Starstruck ft Alex Gaskarth and All Time Low
by ParadiseAly
Summary: Annabeth Mitchell is a normal girl, glee club member, music lover, concert whore. She meets her dream guy, Alex Gaskarth. He's 23 and she's 16. Will they fall in love, live happily ever after? Read to find out. ATL Fanfic
1. Glee Club

Grounded, that would be the one word to describe my life. I was always grounded, and it was all my step dad, Kevin's fault.

It was a Monday morning and I was getting ready for school. I planned on going to my friend Trish's house after school, to "study" which meant sitting around watching t.v. and that kind of thing. But, no! I was grounded...again. This time I was grounded for sneaking my best friend Adam into the house through my bedroom window. Two months was a little irrational for something like that, at least in my mind it was.

I let out a frustrated sigh and continued getting ready. My shower was done and I was dressed in my usual, black skinny jeans and an All Time Low t-shirt. I plugged in my hair dryer and turned it on. The breathy scream drowned out the song of my iPod so I cranked the volume.

Once my dark brown hair was dry I put on a thick line of black eyeliner and a coat of clear lipgloss.

"Annabeth Mitchell!" My mother screamed.

I frowned but replied, "Coming, Ma!"

I grabbed my book bag and headed downstairs.

"It's the first day back after Christmas break and you're already running late!" My mom scolded.

"It's not like I have anything important first period." I shrugged and reached for an apple.

"Don't you have English?"

"Exactly." I said and bit into the apple.

"God, you are so stupid!" She shouted.

I rolled my eyes and walked out the door without saying anything else.

I got into my car, a 1967 Chevy Impala, and started the engine, the sound immediately calmed me.

I drove to school but didn't go in right away, I sat inside listening to All Time Low's new cd Dirty Work.

Someone tapped on my window and I turned to look who it was.

"Hey, girly! Get out of there!" Shouted Trish.

I grinned and got out.

Trish gave me a quick hug and looked over my outfit. "Do you ever wear anything but band shirts?"

"Never." I laughed.

"Who's that?" Trish asked and looked over my shoulder.

I turned around and said, "Who?"

"That super fine boy who's totally staring at your tits."

I folded my arms over my chest and turned away, I was very self concious about my boobs.

"You shouldn't be calling anyone that, you have a boyfriend." I said.

"Pssh, he don't even need to know." She laughed.

I didn't find it very amusing.

"Just because he doens't go to our school doesn't mean you can act like a slut when he isn't around." I informed her.

She rolled her eyes, "It's not my fault he graduated three years ago."

"It is your fault that you're 16 and you're dating a guy that's 21." I cocked my head to side, knowing that I was right.

She frowned, "I'm aware."

"Sorry, I'm kind of being bitchy today, not a good morning." I explained.

"No, it's cool, I get it. Was it Kevin?"

"No, actually, it was my mom this morning."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She grabbed my hand and squeezed.

"S'okay." I mumbled.

"Let's head to first period, 'kay?"

"Yeah, let's go."

We hurried inside and took our usual seats at the back of the room.

"Yo." Kyle said as he took the seat in front of me.

"Hey, dude, what's up?" I asked.

"Not much, man, Christmas was shitty this year." He said.

"Yeah, bro, I know. I would've rather stayed in this fucking shit-hole."

"Well, I wouldn't say that." He laughed.

"Nah, man, we got glee club here!" I said with a grin.

He fake-shuddered and I laughed, I loved glee club.

Kyle opened his mouth to say something, probably something about how glee club sucked balls, but the bell rang and Mr. Cothern walked into the room.

"Hush up!" He shouted.

I groaned, there was a reason I hated English, and it was him.

"I see you haven't changed a bit." Kori Miller sneered at me when I caught her looking at my outfit.

"Nor have you. You still dress like a prostitute and you still smell like chlamydia."

Her jaw dropped and she turned back to the front of the room where Mr. Cother was writing today's notes on the board.

"Annabeth, can you believe All Time Low is playing here in two days?" Olivia Littleton whispered to me when she stopped laughing at Kori.

"I know right! Oh my god, I want to see them so bad but it's sold out and I don't have ticket. I have to meet them!" I whispered back.

"Oh, you do have a ticket!" I heard Trish whisper.

"Huh?" I asked.

"What?" Her eyes got wide. "I didn't say anything."

I shook my head and turned around.

"Attention Brooklyn High students and staff." The principal's voice bleated over the intercom. "Mrs. McNary needs ALL glee club members in the auditorium immediately. I repeat, all glee members need to report the auditorium immediately."

Kori and I grinned at each other and stood up.

We grabbed our bags and headed for the door.

"Thank you, Jesus!" I said as soon as we were in the hall.

"Yes, everytime I doubt you, you make me believe again! I love you, Jesus!" Kori laughed.

We skipped down the hall into the auditorium, it smelled funny, like wet paint and sushi.

"James!" I yelled and everyone turned to look.

"Annabeth!" He yelled back.

I ran into my gay best friend's arms. "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too, Bunny!" He said, using his nickname for me.

"I would complain about PDA but I don't think it applies in this situation." Mrs. McNary gave us a smile.

We laughed and separated.

"Alright, I need everyone to take a seat, in the first few rows, please!" She shouted.

Everyone took their seats and quieted as Mrs. McNary walked onto the stage. "I have some very exciting news."

"Did we get more money for costumes?" Asked Tori Otloe.

"Well, besides that." She said.

"New...new...heck I dunno!" Tori yelled and threw her arms in the air.

We all laughed and Mrs. McNary announced, "We are going to be performing in front of the entire school exactly one month from now. And we will be performing Bad Romance by Lady  
>Gaga!"<p>

"Yes!" I shouted. "This is awesome! We're finally doing a song people know, 'cause well, to be honest, no one really knows that disco stuff you have us do."

"Well, perhaps you should audition for the lead, you are one of our best singers." Mrs. McNary compimented.

"Thank you very much."

"Now, auditions will be tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock sharp, sign up sheet will be in my office, you can stop by anytime." She said.

A few people whooped and cheered but most of us remained quiet, it was early and not many of us were "morning people."

"That part is so mine." I smiled confidently.

"Maybe Stacia will get it, she's uber talented." Trish said.

"Hell nah! I was born for this."

We all dispersed and as I stepped into the hall I bumped a guy.

"Oh, shit, sorry dude." I said.

"Oh, Annabeth. I missed you." My ex-boyfriend Mitch grabbed my and crushed his lips to mine.

I shoved him away, "Dammit, Mitch. I broke up with you for a reason!"

"Don't be such a bitch." He said.

"Fuck off."

His temper flared and he punched me in the face.

Blood filled my mouth and I fell to the ground, my head hit the wall and next thing I know, everything is black.


	2. We Got Tickets

"Annabeth! Annabeth, wake up, honey, please wake up!" A voice pleaded.

I opened my eyes slowly and saw Trish's worried face hovering over me.

"Trish, your eyes are totally bugging out like a fish," I said the first thing that came to mind.

"How do you feel?" She asked, still worried.

"I'm fine, what the hell are you standing over me for?" I tried to sit up but I was pushed back onto the cold hard ground. "And what the fuck am I doing on the floor? I didn't fall again did I?" I was known for being clumsy.

"No, it was Mitch, he hit you. Don't you remember?" James said.

"Umm," I thought hard trying to remember. "Faintly, I suppose."

"The cops came and arrested him." He told me.

"Ah, I see." I nodded.

"Here, sweetie, put this on your head." The nurse knelt down beside me and held an ice pack to my head.

"Thank you." I said and sat up against the wall.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

"My head hurts like a mother but other than that I'm fine, honestly."

She nodded and headed back to her office, most likely to call my mom.

"Hey." Kyle said and sat down next to me.

"Hey," I smiled and turned to James and Trish. "Can we have a minute?"

They nodded and walked away.

"I wanna kill that prick." He said.

"I know, I know. Just don't do anything irrational, he's not worth it." I sighed.

"Listen, you're my best friend, alright. I may act all tough and shit but you know how sweet I can be." Kyle looked in my eyes.

"Yeah, I do." I grinned and brushed his blonde hair out of his face.

He smiled like a little kid and I kissed his cheek.

We hugged briefly and Kyle stood up before helping me to my feet.

I got dizzy and stumbled back a few steps and Kyle grabbed me, "I think I should take you home."

"No, I'm fine, I just got a head rush."

Kyle lead me into the auditorium and sat me down in one of the chairs.

I sighed and tried to clear my head.

There was silence between Kyle and I, it wasn't awkward or anything, it was peaceful. I fell asleep in the chair and slept dreamlessly.

I woke up with a pounding headache and I was in my bed, which was odd because I didn't remember coming home.

"Ma?" I asked as I stepped into the hallway.

No one answered so she must've been at work.

The light was on in the bathroom and the door was open so I stepped into the doorway.

"What're you doing?" I asked Kyle who was standing at the sink.

He spun around quickly with his phone in his hand, "Oh, just had to make a call."

"I see. So, why are we not at school?" I asked, though I didn't really care.

"Because you got the day off because of Mitch and I just skipped." He shrugged.

I sighed and got a bottle of asprin out of the medicine cabinet.

I took one out and got a drink of water directly from the faucet.

"You should probably lay back down." Kyle said.

I shook my head and started walking downstairs into the living room.

The doorbell rang and I hurried to open it.

Trish was standing on the small porch clutching an envelope in her hands. It was pouring down rain and she was soaked, but that little white envelope, was kept perfectly dry and safe, it must've been important.

"Annabeth!" She tackle-hugged me.

"Hey." I smiled and hugged her back.

"Guess what!" She shouted.

"I don't know but I bet you'll tell me!"

"Open this!" She screamed and handed me the envelope.

I opened it slowly and a four concert tickets fluttered into my palm. I turned over the tickets to see who they were for.

The tickets read ALL TIME LOW, as headliners, and HEY MONDAY and WE THE KINGS as openers.

"Oh my jesus!" I shouted. "How'd you get these? They've been sold out for weeks!"

"I have my ways!" She grinned. "So, I was thinking you, me, my boy Ben, and whoever you want to take."

I smiled and looked over my shoulder at Kyle.

"Do you wanna go?" I asked him.

"Are you gonna act like a crazy fangirl if we do go?" He asked.

"No, well, yeah, probably. Yeah, I'm gonna act like a crazy fangirl. But, in my defense, it's fucking All Time Low! What am I supposed to do? Just sit there like a loser?" I yelled.

He cringed breifly.

"Sorry. I'm just really excited."

"Yeah, I'll go. You may need me to hold you back so that you don't run up on stage and try to rape them." He nodded.

"Honey, it wouldn't be rape." I laughed.

I turned back to Trish. "Trish Conners, you are my best friend in the world, and I love you! And I totally owe you a kick ass birthday present."

She grinned, "So it's settled, we're gonna see All Time Low tomorrow night at 8 o'clock!"

**Author's note.**

**Sorry for it taking so long to get to the guys being in the story but I want it all to make sense and this is the only way I could think to do it. So, please review, because reviews = inspiration. And inspiration = more writing. And more writing = more updates. So yeah, reviews = updates! I hope you guys are liking this so far! **

**xoxo, Aly May**


	3. All Access

I woke up the day of the concert with a smile on my face.

I got out of bed and cranked All Time Low's latest cd, Dirty Work.

I danced around my room as I picked out my clothes for the day and got ready to get in the shower.

"Whoo!" I yelled as I Feel Like Dancin' started.

Happy, that was how I felt. Like I wanted to run around acting crazy, I wanted to dance in street, I wanted run into a grocery store and start singing to random people, I wanted to have fun!

But that would all happen tonight, when I went to the concert, when I saw the hottest man on the planet, Mr. Alexander Willam Gaskarth.

I ran into my bathroom and danced as I took my shower.

I shook my ass when I was standing at the counter drying my hair and applying my make-up.

"What are you doing?" Kevin asked when I danced my way into the kitchen.

"What's it look like?" I said.

"It seems that you're acting stupid."

"I guess it would seem like that." I laughed, no one could ruin this day.

"Well stop." He sneered.

"I don't think I can!"

I grabbed an apple off the counter and got my book bag.

When I shimmied my way out the door I saw Kyle's car parked in the driveway.

I walked to the drivers window and peered inside, he was sleeping.

I tapped on the window.

He didn't budge so I opened the door.

"Kyle." I prodded him in the side.

"Good morning." He smiled groggily.

"You need to wake up so we can go to school." I said gently.

He shooked his head rapidly and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. "Alright, get in."

I smiled and walked around to the passenger side.

"So, how did you sleep?" He asked.

"Alright, I suppose. And you?" I asked.

"Good, my neck hurts a little but it's fine." He shrugged and started the car.

"You could've stayed in my bed. We haven't had a sleep-over in almost two years!"

"We should do that tonight."

I gasped, "We should! That would be so fun!"

He grinned and sped towards the school.

When we got there Trish was waiting by my parking space.

"I hope this day goes fast!" She groaned and I got out of the car.

"So do I, Trish, so do I." I hugged her quickly and we walked towards the building.

"Kyle! Slow down! You walk too fast!" Trish complained as he walked past us.

"It's not my fault you're wearing stilettos to school." He laughed.

"Wedges! These are wedges!" She pointed to her feet.

I laughed and pulled her along.

"Hey, Annabeth!" Kori Miller smiled and approached me with a smile on her face.

"What?" I sighed and folded my arms across my chest.

"You going to the All Time Low concert tonight?" She asked, still smiling.

"Yeah."

"We should totally go together, it would be so fun!" She gushed and touched my arm with her fingertips.

I cringed away automatically. "How would that be fun in anyway?"

"Because, we can finally become friends!" She giggled.

"Um, well, yeah, let's go with no." I nodded and smiled fakely.

"Whatever bitch." She turned away but then turned back. "Why don't you just go kill yourself so you can be with your precious little brother again."

I froze, I couldn't believe she brought that up. Everyone knew that while my family lived in California that my brother had been stabbed and I had been beaten. The man who did it was never found, but my little brother Jacoby had died and the man beat me and knocked me unconcious.

I woke up in the hospital and every memory of what happened came rushing back to me, I remembered seeing the knife rammed into my brother's side and tears streamed down his face as he screamed. The man pulled the knife out and brother fell to floor and bled out.

I screamed from the floor, my mouth was dripping blood but I was still concious. I tried to stand, tried to hurt the man as best I could but he had the advantage. He kicked me in the ribs and then in the head.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I fell into Kyle who was standing beside me.

"Listen, just don't listen to her, alright. She's just a bitch, we're going to go to that concert tonight and we're going to have fun. And if she's there and she's moshing, then well, you can beat the shit out her then." He whispered.

I giggled at the thought of being able to punch Kori in the face. "Thanks, Kyle."

"Let's go." He pulled me to my locker and opened it for me.

I took out my English book and walked into class with Kyle in tow.

We took our seats and class started.

The day passed in a blur and next thing I know, it's one hour before we have to leave.

"Ahhhhh! Kyle! Help!" I screamed down the stairs where Kyle was waiting.

He ran up the stairs the quickly. "What? What happened?"

"I have nothing to wear!" I said gesturing to my body.

He looked and stared for a moment, I was only wearing my bra and panties.

"Just wear jeans." He shrugged.

I sighed, "It's not that simple."

I turned back to my closet and rummaged around before I managed to find my favorite pair of shorts. They were super short, even shorter now that my legs had gotten longer.

I held the white denim shorts in front of me and cocked my head to the side.

"Perfect!" I slid the shorts on and buttoned them.

"Here, try this shirt." Kyle tossed me a bright red camisole.

I smiled and pulled the shirt on.

I put my hands on my hips and smiled at my reflection.

"Now let's go!" Kyle picked me up and ran down the stairs.

I giggled as he put my down.

I found my red converse that I left in the living room and put them on.

Trish came bursting into the house with a huge smile on her face, "Are you ready bitchezzzz?"

We laughed and got in the car where Ben was waiting.

"Hi!" I laughed.

"Hey." He smiled back, Ben was a sweet guy.

"Go! Go! Go!" Trish yelled and pointed at the clock.

Ben sped towards the venue, the Chicago House of Blue's.

Tonight was going to be amazing.

The car ride was silent, well sort of, it was hard to talk because Trish was blasting So Wrong, It's Right and screaming the words.

"What's wrong?" I yelled to Kyle who was staring blankly out the window.

"What?" He yelled back.

"You okay?" I screamed in his ear.

"I can't hear you!" He screamed back.

I got out my cell phone and typed "U ok?" and sent it to him.

"Yeah, y? Do i look not ok?" He sent back.

"U look kinda out of it." I replied.

"Nah, im good. :)"

"Good!" I typed back and smiled at him.

Trish turned down the radio and shouted "Oh, fuck! That's them! That's fucking All Time Low!"

I nearly jumped out of the car when I saw the boys signing autographs for the kids who were already in line.

"Stop the fucking car!" I yelled.

Ben let us out and Trish and I ran towards the crowd.

Trish having bony elbows and a knack for getting people out the way got us to the front out the crowd within a minute.

"Hello." A man with honey hair turned towards us, it was Alex Gaskarth.

He was much taller in person and he leaned over a few other people to hug us.

I turned to Trish and giggled, "Best hug ever!"

Alex must've heard me because he looked at me and winked.

I blushed and looked down.

"Alex, man, come on!" Rian yelled.

"Why?" He yelled back.

"Soundcheck!"

"Fuck." Alex mumbled.

"Are you two going to be at the show?" Alex asked us.

We nodded.

"Come find us backstage." He said and handed us two all access passes.

"Thanks so much!" I grinned.

"I just want to see you later." He smiled and walked away.

I nearly collapsed, Alex wanted to see us? Why us? We were just...well, us!

Everyone started to clear out so Trish and I grabbed Ben and Kyle before getting in line.

"I think I'm going to die." Trish said.

"Same here." I nodded "But you know what? I would be totally fine with that."

"Yeah." She nodded back.

We were both breathless, most likely from a mix of adrenaline and shock.

We waiting in line for three hours before a man working with the venue opened the front doors and shouted, "Everyone can come in now!"

The guy was smart because he ran to get out of the way of the stampede.

We were the fourth group waiting in line so we got inside quicly.

We showed our tickets and got them scanned before we ran inside. We were all fast so we got dead center in the third row.

"Oh, I didn't even show you!" Trish said.

I looked over and she opened her bag, it was filled with bras.

"Great minds think alike." I grinned and showed her my bag, also filled with bras.

The lights dimmed after a few minutes and everyone cheered.

Hey Monday's set was first and they sounded amazing but I couldn't focus, I wanted All Time Low.

By the time We The Kings Set was finished I was getting really anxious.

"Gah! I can't stand this anymore." I told Kyle.

"Chill out, they're started in like ten minutes." He told me.

"I know! That's too long!"

Kyle laughed and shook his head.

I was bouncing on the balls of my feet with the lights dimmed again.

It got so loud when the boys walked out onstage.

"Look at Zack! Look at Zack!" A girl next to me yelled.

He was shirtless, which wasn't out of the ordinary for him, but still, it was a very nice thing to see.

"Good evening, Chicago!" Alex yelled into the mike and everyone cheered.

"How you doing?" Jack yelled.

More cheers.

"This song's called Lost In Stereo and we hope you like it!"

The song started and everyone started dancing.

Trish and Ben were grinding on each other.

Kyle and I shrugged and started dancing.

By the time the set was finished I was exhausted.

"That was insanity!" I said as I looked in my bag, no bras left.

"I know right! So, are you ready for backstage?" She asked.

"Is my make up okay?" I asked.

"Smudgy, but it looks hot." She grinned. "What about mine?"

"Perfect as usual!"

We told the boys what we were going to do, they just nodded and headed out to the car.

A few minutes later Kyle texted me saying, "ben has to go to work. when should i pick u 2 up?"

I texted back, "not sure. will text u ltr when."

I stuck my phone in my pocket, grabbed Trish's wrist and started pulling her backstage.

"Hold up!" A security gaurd stopped us.

We flashed our passes and he let us through without another word.

"Where do we go?" Trish whispered when we entered a large hallway.

"Uh, I'm assuming the room with the placard that says 'All Time Low'." I pointed to the door a few feet away from us.

"Yeah, I guess that would make sense."

We walked forward with shaking knees.

I raised my hand and knocked on the door.

The door started to open and a voice yelled, "Yeah, bro, just put your pants on!"

I giggled and the door opened the rest of the way to reveal Alex holding a red cup in his hand with no shirt on.

"Ooh," I heard Trish mumbled.

"Oh, you came!" Alex grinned and pulled us inside.

"Totally, when a rockstar tells you to do something, you do it." I laughed.

"Fair enough." He laughed. "So, what are your names?"

"I'm Annabeth and this is my best friend Trish." I said.

"Well, I'm Alex, it's nice to meet you." He held out his hand and we shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too." I smiled seductively.

"So, come on, let me get you some drinks. Wait, how old are you?" he asked.

"We're both sixteen." Trish said.

"Oh, underagers."

"Do you really care?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Course not!" He winked and pulled us towards the bar. "What do you guys want?"

"Slippery nipple, extra slippery." Trish told the bartender.

"Bud light." I said.

Alex seemed impressed with my order and I couldn't help but smile.

The bartender handed us our drinks and I took a sip of my beer. "Yum."

Alex laughed and Trish just wrinkled her nose.

"What?" I asked her.

"Nothing, beer is just nasty." She said.

"I'm sorry, I drink like a man! It's my fault!" I said and Alex laughed again.

"Well, stop it!" Trish giggled.

"Ah, you two are great." Alex said. "Come meet the guys."

He pulled us along and introduced us, "This is Rian Dawson, Jack Barakat, and Zack Merrick."

We waved to the guys and said, "Hey."

"And guys, this is Annabeth and Trish."

Rian and Zack nodded and said, "Hi."

Jack, however, ran forward and hugged us.

"Oh, wow." I said with a chuckle.

Jack let go of us but remained focused on Trish.

"I'm impressed." Alex complimented.

"By what?" Trish and I asked.

"People usually don't react that well to Jack's...well, just to Jack in general." He nodded.

I laughed and looked Alex in the eyes. I lost myself in them. Was I really falling in love?

**~!Author'sNote!~**

**Wow, thanks for all of the views guys! It means so much to me! I hope you like this chapter, it didn't turn out quite like I hoped but I like it. Please review! **

**xoxo, AlyMay**


	4. Running Away

~!Alex's POV!~

"Bro, if you try to say she's not hot, then you're a fag." Jack said to me.

"I'm not saying she isn't hot, I'm saying she isn't _legal._" I told him.

"Who cares? Dude, she's amazing!" Jack punched my arm.

"Ow, watch it!" I said. "I know she's amazing but we can't! Do you not understand that?"

"I understand, but I know you. Since when do you care whether or not you're supposed to do something?" He laughed.

I sighed, "I don't know, man, this can cause a lot of shit."

"Just give it a shot."

I shook my head, "No. I don't even know if she likes me."

"She does."

"And how can you be so sure?" I turned towards him, barely taking my eyes off Annabeth.

"Are you fucking blind? She looks over here every five seconds, most likely hoping that you'll come over and dance with her. She has that lost puppy look in her eyes, hoping that you'll be the one to rescue her. It's obvious, even to me." He pushed me forward.

"I...I just can't!" I said.

"Do it! Trust me."

I nodded and stepped forward as a slow song came on the radio.

"Annabeth, will you dance with me?" I asked.

She grinned up at me and nodded.

I took her hand and led her back onto the "dancefloor" which was really just a large wooden board in the middle of the room.

I placed my hands on her waist and she put hers around my neck.

She stepped closer to me and pressed her body against mine.

We slow danced for hours, even to fast songs, we didn't care. All we cared about was the moment, how we never wanted it to end.

"That was so much fun!" She laughed as we stepped off the danecefloor hand-in-hand.

"I'm glad you liked it." I smiled.

I glanced over to the couch where Rian and Zack we sitting, they started making kissy faces and I blushed.

"Annabeth!"

"What is it, Trish?" Annabeth tore her eyes from mine and looked at her friend.

"It's nearly 3 am! We have to go!" Trish yelled.

"Fuck!" Annabeth got her phone out of her pocket and dialed.

She waited a few moments before snapping the phone shut.

"Kyle didn't answer. He's probably asleep." She said with a frustrated sigh.

"Ben didn't answer either." Trish groaned.

"Ebenne che cosa facciamo adesso? Mia madra sta per uccidermi! Questa notte doveva essere divertente e che era, ma ora siamo cosi morto!" Annabeth yelled.

"What language was that?" Jack whispered.

"Italian, I think." I whispered back.

"Come faremo a tornare a casa? Si tratta di quindici miglia di distanze!" Annabeth said to Trish.

"Annabeth?" Trish put her hands on Annabeth's shoulders. "Annie, relax! It's okay. I'll have my mom talk to your mom, everything will be fine."

"Come puoi essere cosi sicuro?" She whispered.

"Because, I know how to handle these situations."

Annabeth nodded and sat down.

"What was that all about?" I asked Trish.

"She's part Italian, like, her distant relatives, so she speaks fluent Italian. She starts yelling in Italian when she's upset or whatever. You know, like what happened just now." She explained.

"And what exactly was she saying?" Jack asked.

"Umm, her mom's going to kill her, how are we getting home, this night was supposed to be fun and it was, and then she asked how I was sure everything would be okay." She nodded.

"Ohhhh." Jack nodded back.

"I could give you guys a ride if you want." I offered.

"Would you really?" Annabeth was standing with us again.

"Of course, come on." I grabbed her hand and she grabbed Trish.

I led them out to my rental car and opened the doors for them.

"Alright where to first?" I asked after I started the engine.

"Trish, we'll drop you off first. So, 425 South Chestnut."

I sped off and soon enough we were sitting in front of a house. "This right?"

"Yep. Thanks." She grinned and got out the car.

"No problem."

"Bye, call me later." Annabeth yelled.

"So, now I have to take you home?" I asked upset.

"Unfortunately." She sighed.

"Is it wrong to say I don't wanna leave you?" I whispered.

"I don't know, I feel the same way." She admitted.

"I wish you were older, or I was younger."

"Me too."

I reached over and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine, I kissed back, first wth caution but then we both relaxed.

I broke out of the kiss and sighed, slightly frustrated.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"No, don't be. But, I mean, like I told Jack, this can cause a lot of shit."

"I know." She said, still whispering.

"But?" I knew she still had something to say.

"I don't care." She met my eyes and I could tell she meant it.

I sighed and started driving towards her house.

When we got there she immediately reached for the door handle.

"Wait." I grabbed her wrist.

She turned back to me with tears in her eyes. "What?"

"Can I at least have your number?" I asked and held out my phone.

She nodded and typed her number in.

"Will you walk me to my door?" She asked.

"Of course." I got out of the car and took her hand.

We stood on the porch for a few moments in silence.

"I'm really going to miss you." Annabeth whispered.

"I'll miss you too, but I'll call, whenver I can." I assured her.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

My phone started beeping and I groaned.

I pulled my phone out and saw I had a text from Jack, "wher r u?"

"And now you have to go." She whispered.

"And now I have to go." I pressed my lips softly to her cheek and hugged her.

"Goodbye, Alex." She said as she opened the door.

"Bye, Annabeth." I waved.

She smiled and closed the door, I lingered on the porch.

I heard yelling come from inside and it startled me.

"Stop!" I heard Annabeth scream. "Get off!"

"Annabeth!" I yelled and burst into the house.

"Stop it!" She cried.

A man (her dad? step dad?) was holding both her wrists tightly, she couldn't get loose.

"Alex, help me!" She yelled.

I ran forward and pushed the guy, "Don't ever hurt a girl, you prick."

He swung at me but I pushed his arm away.

"Get the fuck out of my house!" He bellowed.

"This isn't your house! This is my mom's house, this is my house. I don't want you here!" Annabeth screamed at him.

"Shut up, you stupid bitch!" He yelled.

I punched him and he fell to the ground, hands clutching his face.

~!Annbeth's POV!~

Alex's fist connected with Kevin's nose and he fell down.

I was terrified, yet I felt safe, Alex was protecting me.

"Alex, I can't stay here." I whispered through my tears.

"Come with me, with us, on tour." He said.

I nodded, "Will you help me get some of my stuff?"

"Of course."

I grabbed his hand and pulled him up to my room and locked the door.

I got two suitcases out of my closet and threw them on the bed.

Alex started pulling clothes out my dresser and throwing them into the suitcases.

I ran into the bathroom to get my small bag of toiletries and then started pulling more clothes out of my closet.

"Oh, I thought I lost this." I said as I picked up a red blouse that I had dropped on the floor.

"Really?" Alex asked, frustrated.

"Sorry, distracted." I said and zipped up the bags that were now full.

"Goddammit! Annabeth, open this door!" Kevin shouted.

"How do we get out of here?" Alex asked.

I opened the window and grabbed the two suitcases and threw the out the window.

I stepped cautiously onto the roof of the porch and signaled for Alex to do the same.

"We going to jump?" He asked.

"Course not." I grabbed onto the gutter and slid down easily.

"Why do I get the feeling you've done this before?" Alex asked.

"Hurry!" I whisper-shouted.

Alex followed suit and we grabbed my bags before running to the car.

We put my bags in the backseat and sped back to the venue.

Alex pulled out his phone and dialed Jack's number.

"Hey, man, where you at?" Jack asked.

"On my way back with Annabeth, can you clean off the extra bunk?" Alex asked.

"She coming with?"

"Yeah."

"Alright man, I'll tell Zack and Rian, and Flyzik. As long as both of you explain what exactly is going on when you get back."

"Jack I don't-" Alex began.

"Of course we'll tell you." I said to the phone.

"Alright then. See you in a few." Jack said and hung up the phone.

I wiped tears from my cheeks and touched my eye.

"Did he hit you?" Alex asked.

I nodded.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Your knuckles are turning white." I whispered and he loosened his grip.

"Who was that?"

"My step-dad, Kevin." I told him.

"Why did he flip out like that?"

"Because I'm supposed to be grounded. But, usually, I just run around doing whatever I want, he's not my family so he can't order me around." I shrugged.

"So he does that, when you don't listen or when you misbehave?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He does the same thing to my mom. The first time I saw him hit her, I threw a jar of pickles at him." I said with a small giggle.

"Pickles? Why pickles?"

"You ever been hit with a jar of pickle. Fucking sucks to get hit with." I laughed.

Alex laughed and took my hand.

"Are you going to help me get through this?" I asked.

"Of course, I'll always be here for you."


	5. I Could Use A Tequila Shot

When Alex and I got to the bus I was still in tears.

He pulled my out of the car and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Aww, sweetie, what happened?" Jack asked when he saw me.

I broke out into sobs again and Jack hugged me.

"Thanks," I smiled weakly.

"Hey, we'll take care of her." Rian offered as him and Zack walked up.

Jack and Alex nodded and walked away to talk.

I sighed, "Fuck."

"What happened?" They asked in unison.

"My step dad was hitting me, Alex heard yelling, came inside, punched my step dad, helped get my bags, and then we came here." I said quickly and took a deep breath.

"Did he do that to you?" Zack pointed to my eye that was probably starting to bruise.

I nodded.

"Come on, we'll get you some ice." They led me onto the bus.

Zack got some ice and wrapped a washcloth around it.

"Thanks." I smiled and held it on my eye.

"Do you need anything?" Rian asked. "Water? Food?"

"I could use a tequila shot."

Their eyebrows raised, "Really?"

I nodded again.

Zack laughed and poured a shot, "Lime?"

"Do I look like I want fruit?" I laughed.

I downed the shot and sat the glass on the counter. "Thanks."

"Really?" Alex said from the front of the bus.

I looked at him and giggled, he was shocked.

"What?" I asked.

"You drink?"

"Sometimes." I smiled.

Alex grinned and wrapped his arms around me, "I want to kiss you so bad right now."

"Then do it." I whispered and sat the ice in the sink.

"I don't think the guys would like that." He said.

"Hmmm." I tapped my lip in thought, and then mouthed, "Play along."

He nodded once.

"Alex," I said with a tearul voice.

"What is it?" He whispered.

"I really need someone to talk to." I cried and leaned into his chest.

"Alright, come on." He led me to his bunk and I crawled inside.

He climbed in beside me and closed the curtain. "Nice. The guys didn't ask one question. That's talent."

"Why thank you." I smiled.

"So, about that kiss." He said.

I grabbed his neck and pulled his face to mine.

His lips touched mine and imaginary fireworks went off in my head.

Alex's tongue flicked across my lip and I felt myself blush.

My phone starting ringing, "And there was hope in me, that I could take you there, but dammit, you're so young, well, I don't think I care."

"Shit." I groaned and pulled my phone out of my pocket. The caller ID read "home."

I answered, "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?" My mother asked.

"Not home, obviously."

"Well get here, now!" She ordered.

"No."

"Get the fuck home or you're grounded."

"I don't care. Because honestly, that's not home, not anymore. Home is somewhere where the people there care about you. And you don't care anymore, so that's not home." I held back tears and waited for a response.

"Then at least tell me who hurt your father." She said.

"My father? Try again, my father died three years ago! Kevin is not my father, not even close." I said, no longer able to control my tears.

"Your father was a drunk, he was stupid."

"Never talk about him that way! Ever!" I screamed into the phone.

"He wasn't even a good parent to you, Annabeth."

"What? He was ten times the parent you could ever be! He actually cared, you never did." I yelled and hung up the phone.

I burried my face in Alex's pillow, I felt him rest his head on my shoulder and trace gentle circles on my back with one hand as the other searched for mine.

He found my hand and twined our fingers together.

"I can't go home, Alex." I whispered.

"I know, I know." He whispered back and hugged me.

"I feel so bad."

"What for?"

"For yelling at my mom." I said.

"But she was yelling at you and saying bad stuff about your dad, she kind of deserved it." Alex told me.

"I know, I still feel bad, I mean, she is my mom."

"Listen," Alex pulled me into his arms and made me meet his eyes. "You don't have to worry about her anymore, or your step-dad. You have us now, alright?"

I smiled, "Thank you."

"So, what's it gonna take to make you happier?" Alex asked.

I didn't say anything as I pulled out my iPhone.

I scrolled through my music until I found my favorite song.

"Something Corporate, Konstantine." Alex grinned.

I nodded.

"Don't let Jack hear you playing that, he might rape you."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Alex was just about to kiss me again when Jack tore the curtain open.

"Something Corporate!" He jumped on me and wrapped his arms around me. "Marry me?"

"Yes! I will be Mrs. Jack Barakat!" I laughed.

"Yay!" He laughed too.

"Okay, Jack. You can get your boner off me now." I poked his sides.

"You know you like it!" He said as he climbed off of me and got out of the bunk.

I giggled as Alex pulled the curtain shut again.

"That boy." He shook his head and chuckled.

I yawned and snuggled closer to Alex.

"Tired?"

"Very." I nodded.

"Sleep tight." He whispered.

I feel asleep quickly and slept dreamlessly.

**~!Author's Note!~ Sorry this one's so short, had a little bit of writer's block. I'll make up for it on the next chapter. Don't forget to review! xoxo, AlyMay**


	6. Hold Me

I woke up with my head on Alex's chest and his arms around my waist.

"You up?" Alex whispered.

"Not really." I mumbled.

"Then go back to sleep, honey." He said as he kissed my cheek.

"Okay." I snuggled deeper into his chest and fell back asleep.

~!A few hours later!~

"Get up, hoes!" Jack yelled and tore the curtain back.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I sat up.

"Waking you guys up, duh!" He yelled and pulled me out of the bunk.

"Jack! Put me down!" I laughed.

"Never!" He threw me over his shoulder and ran towards the back of the bus.

Jack was about to put me down on the couch when Zack grabbed me and ran me back to the front of the bus.

"Guys!" I screamed. "I'm not a football!"

Zack sat me back on my feet and yelled, "Touchdown!"

I laughed and ran back to Alex's bunk, "Wake up hoe!"

"Oh, no!" He laughed. "Jack is already rubbing off on you."

"Oh no! This is terrible!" I yelled.

Alex laughed again and got out of the bunk.

I looked around to make sure no one could see us and I kissed him quickly.

He breathed a small laugh and broke out of the kiss.

"Annabeth," He whispered and brushed his fingertips across my cheekbone which was probaly bruised.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

"It's definitely not good." He sighed and touched the corner of my eye.

"Ow!" I gasped and cringed away.

"Sorry." Alex grimaced. "It looks really bad."

I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. "Oh my god!"

My eye was bruised all the way from my brow to my cheekbone. It looked horrible.

"It looks like...well, it looks like I got punched." I sighed.

"I really want to kill him." Alex said from the doorway.

"He's not worth it. It doesn't even matter anymore." I shook my head.

"It does matter, he hurt you, Annabeth."

"I know, but, it really matter. It's not like I ever plan on seeing him again."

"Still, a guy should never hit a girl."

"I know, I know! Just forget about it. It's the past." I said.

"I wish I could forget about it, but I can't."

"Oh Annabeth!" Jack yelled.

I ran into the back lounge where Jack was calling from. "Yeah?"

"Who's Garrett?" He asked with my phone in his hand.

"Where'd you get my phone?" I asked.

"Fell out of your pocket. So, who's Garrett?" He asked again.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Alex asked, right behind me.

"No, I mean, I don't know." I rambled.

"What do you mean?" Jack said as he scrolled through my contacts list.

"I mean, we made out at a party once. It never turned into anything, though." I shrugged.

"Does he like you?" Alex asked.

I nodded yes.

"And do you like him?" Jack said and continued reading the contents of my phone.

"No, I mean, I used to, I don't know if I still do. Why are you guys teaming up on me?"

"Just curious." They said together.

"It's like you share the same damn brain!" I shook my head and walked away.

I laid down in Alex's bunk and pulled the curtain shut.

"Hey," Jack pulled the curtain opened again. "You want your phone back?"

I nodded and took it from him. "Thanks."

Jack nodded and walked away.

I pulled the curtain shut again and opened my contacts list.

I called Garrett and he picked up on the first ring. "Hey."

"Hi." I said.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I left home."

"What? But why?"

"Kevin."

"Ah, I understand." Garret sighed. "Are you ever going to come back?"

"Probably not." I sighed.

"You have to, Annabeth! If you can't go to your house you can stay with me! Please!" He begged.

"Thanks. Maybe when tour's over." I smiled.

"Tour?" He asked.

"I'll exlain later, I promise."

"You better." He laughed. "Hey, I gotta go. I'll text you later. 'Kay?"

"Alright. Bye, Garrett!" I said before we hung up.

I shut my phone off and stuck it back into my pocket.

My eyes were shut but I heard someone open the curtain again.

I opened my eyes and saw Alex standing above me. "Why are you crying now?"

"Because I think I have feelings for Garrett and you at the same time and I feel bad." I said and wiped tears from my cheeks.

"Who do you care about more?" He asked.

"I don't know! That's the problem!" I cried.

"What can I do to help?"

"Get in here and hold me."

**~!Author'sNote!~ Y'all were on my ass about a new chapter already so here ya go! Hope you like it! Also, I know I know I said I would make this chapter longer but it didn't quite work out that way, sorry 'bout that! I will make it up to you ASAP, I pinkie swear! REVIEW! xoxo, AlyMay.**


	7. I Have No Words For You, Jack

"Annabeth." Someone said and poked my shoulder.

"Huh?" I said stupidly and opened my eyes.

"You should get up or else you're gonna end up being awake all night." Flyzik said.

"Yeah, sure." I mumbled tiredly and rolled back over.

Suddenly someone grabbed me around the waist and pulled me out of the bunk. "What is going on?" I yelled.

"Relax, you just needed to get up." Zack said and sat me on my feet.

"This isn't fair." I crossed my arms.

Flyzik and Zack looked at me like I was crazy.

"I'm outnumbered by you boys! One girl and ten guys!" I explained.

They nodded and laughed.

"It isn't funny! I'm doomed!" I threw my arms up in the air.

"Did someone put a little extra crazy in your oatmeal this morning?" Jack asked.

"No! This is what happens when I don't get my usual 13 hours of sleep, I get crazy." I giggled and stifled a yawn.

"Do you know where Alex is?" Jack asked.

"No, I figured he was with you guys." I said.

"We thought he was with you..."He trailed off.

"Fuck." I sighed.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Alex's number.

"Hello?" He picked up on the first ring.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"At Walmart."

"You coulda told somebody! We were freaking out and such!" I sighed again.

"Sorry. I thought you guys would stay asleep for longer than you did."

"Yeah, so did I." I shot Zack a look and he chuckled.

"Well, I'll be back in like ten minutes, alright?"

"'Kay." I said and we hung up.

"He was merely visiting a Walmart." I told the guys.

They nodded and looked relieved.

"Can I go back to bed now?" I yawned.

Matt sighed but nodded, "Go for it."

I laid back down in the bunk and closed my eyes, falling asleep quickly.

_"Where are we going?" I giggled as Alex pulled me towards the bus._

_"Just come with me." He slurred, we were both wasted._

_"No, tell me where we're going!" I dug my heels into the pavement and refused to move._

_"Just come on!" He urged._

_"Okay." I giggled and followed him onto the bus._

_He kissed me and held my body against his._

_"Bunk, now!" I whispered against his lips._

_We climbed into the bunk and started peeling our clothes off._

_"Annabeth." Alex whispered in my ear._

"Annabeth! Wake up."

I opened my eyes, realizing that I had been dreaming.

I frowned. "Good morning."

"Doesn't seem so good." He said.

"Weird dream, that's all." I told him, it wasn't a total lie.

"You were talking." He smirked.

"Oh, god. Oh, jeez. Now I feel awkward." I put my face in my hands.

"It's alright, I don't mind." He smirked again.

"Don't make fun of me." I blushed.

"I'm not." He smiled and kissed me.

"I don't think that's going to help my cause right now." I giggled and pulled away.

"Are you sure?" Alex grinned and kissed me again.

"Mmm, maybe it will help." I knotted my fingers in his hair and held him close.

He rolled on top of me, his body fit perfectly against mine.

"Are you two going to get up any time soon?" Jack asked and pulled the curtain opened.

I tore my mouth away from Alex's and looked up at Jack. I felt my face getting hot and looked away.

"Are you guys together now?" Jack smirked.

"No, of course-" I began.

Alex cut me off, "Of course we are."

"We are?" I asked, a smile tugging at the corner's of my lips.

"Yeah."

"Aww." I grinned and hugged him.

"Just remember one thing." Jack reached into his pocket and threw something at Alex.

He caught it and blushed. "Dude!"

I looked at what he was holding in his hand, it was a condom, now was my turn to blush.

"Thanks, Jacky, but we don't need that." I took the condom from Alex and tossed it back to Jack.

"Hey, you gotta be safe." He tried handing it back to me.

"I have my own." I told him.

Jack nodded before walking and away and Alex said, "Do you really?"

"Of course not." I laughed.

"Oh, well, okay. Well, I mean, I used to carry them at 16 but I don't know if you're..." He trailed off.

"Yes, I'm still a virgin."

"I feel bad for not being able to say that about myself."

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"I don't know, I just wish I could say that."

"You're older than me Alex, you're allowed to say you're not." I brushed my fingertips across his cheek.

Alex was about to say something when my phone started ringing, the song "Tip Your Bartender" by Glassjaw filled the bunk and I dug my phone out of my pocket.

"Fuckin' shit." I groaned. "Damn you, Trish!"

I hit ignore and sent Trish a text saying "busy rite now, call u bak ltr. sry."

"its ok. jst need 2 tlk 2 u. sum stuff went dwn skool. also kyle said he called u n didnt get an answer. u shud call him bak, seems worried." She replied quickly.

I sighed and tossed my phone to the side.

"So, what were you saying?" I asked.

"That I wish I could say that I was a virgin too, ya know. I've made quite a few mistakes." He said.

"Right, well, I mean, everyone makes mistakes, and well, that's the past, you just gotta let it go. It's a new year, sort of, you can just start fresh."

"A fresh start, with you." Alex grinned and pulled me closer to him.

I curled into his chest and took a deep breath, soon enough Alex was asleep.

I crawled out of the bunk and walked into the back lounge where Jack was watching Home Alone.

"Weren't you just watching this earlier?" I asked.

"What's your point?" He said defensively.

"Well, I just... I mean, twice in a day? Isn't that going just a little far?"

"It's Home Alone!"

"But it's just... I mean, you already watched it today, and then... it's just, never mind." I stuttered.

"Do you wanna watch it with me?" He offered.

"I hate the movie, to be honest." I admitted.

"Whaaa?" He yelled.

"Hush, Alex is asleep." I smacked his arm.

"Whaaaa?" He whispered.

"I just don't like it anymore, I've seen it too many times." I shrugged.

"Too many times? It's Home Alone, that's not possible."

"Jack, I think we've established the fact that it's Home Alone, chill your pants."

"I will not chill my pants! My pants cannot be chilled. You hate Home Alone!" He said.

"Okay, okay, I love it! Best movie ever! Epic! It's like Jesus! Does that make you feel better?" I laughed.

He nodded and directed his attention back to the movie.

I shook my head and took a seat beside him and pulled out my iPod.

"You know what I hate..." I said.

"What?" Jack asked.

"When my headphones have sex in my pocket and then they get all tangled." I explained as I untangled the mess of wires.

Jack laughed. "Sex in your pocket? That's a good one."

I finally managed to untangled my headphones and I put them in.

I scrolled through my playlist until I found the song I was looking for. I clicked the song and closed my eyes as it started.

Jack poked my side and I opened my eyes. "Yeah?"

"I can hear that, ya know."

"Is it really that loud? I didn't notice, sorry." I turned down the volume slightly.

"What are you even listening to?" He asked.

I handed him my iPod and he looked at the screen. "Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks by Panic! At The Disco."

"Favorite song by them." I nodded.

"I hate them. We all do."

"Why?" I asked curiously.

"Brendon and Alex get in a lot of fights. They have clashing personalities. I mean, I used to get along with Brendon but not anymore. Zack nearly beat the shit out of him one day."

"He can't be that bad, can he?"

"Like I said, he used to be okay, and maybe if you met him you could get along with him but we just hate them. Spencer is pretty cool but Brendon is a douche."

I frowned, it's never nice hearing bad things about one of your favorite bands.

"Don't judge them just because of me." Jack said, noticing my sadness. "You should never assume someone is a certain way just because of hear-say."

"You just said something intellectual." I said in shock.

"Shut up." He laughed.

"I gotta admit, Brendon Urie is damn sexy." I said and Jack busted out laughing.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've just heard that so many times, after a while it starts getting really funny for some reason." He said, still laughing and now slapping his knee.

I patted his head lightly, "Oh, dear, Jack. I have no words for you."

**Okay, guys, I finally got a new chapter up, even I was getting angry with how long it took. It's still kinda short and uneventful but a chapter none the less. I hope you like it. Also, I'm thinking about making Panic! At The Disco a part of the story, so give me your opinions on that. Review! xoxo, AlyMay**


	8. Don't Look At My Penis

"Thank you, Indianapolis!" Alex yelled into the microphone. "You guys have been so fucking amazing tonight!"

I cheered from backstage as the boys walked off.

"That was amazing!" I threw my arms around Alex's neck.

"I'm glad you had fun. And I'm sorry I'm all sweaty."

"I don't really mind." I shrugged.

"I call first shower!" Jack said and ran off to the dressing room.

I laughed when the guys started arguing, Jack had been getting first shower the past two weeks.

"No, bro, it's my turn!" Zack said.

"No, no, no. It's my turn dammit!" Rian jumped in.

"Oh, dang." I said. "Guys, guys, calm down, deep breaths. Okay, you can resolve this problem calmly and rationally."

"Ha! Yeah, right." Flyzik said as he walked past with a guitar case in his hand.

"Pessimist!" I shouted.

"No, no, you're right. I will be more than happy to wait." Alex said calmly.

I nodded in approval. "Jack, I do think you should give someone else a shot at first shower."

"Fine." He said.

"Good, Zack, you can have first today, Rian you get first next show, deal?" I suggested.

They nodded in agreement.

The boys went about their business and I wandered around the venue.

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! My phone started vibrating and ringing.

"What the-" I pulled it out of my pocket quickly and hit silent.

That was definitly not my ringtone.

I checked the caller ID and a picture of Jack flashed on my screen.

I looked around and saw him and Alex laughing.

"Dicks!" I yelled. "I can't believe you changed my ringtone!"

"Love you too!" They shouted back.

I laughed and took a few steps backwards, accidentally running into someone.

I turned around and said, "Sorry, that was my fault. I should've been paying attention."

"No, it's no big deal." The girl said.

"Wait, wait, Kiersten? Kiersten Davies?" I asked.

"Yeah. Who- Oh, my jesus! Annabeth Mitchell! I haven't seen you since sixth grade!" She squealed.

I grinned and hugged her tightly, "I missed you so much, K."

"I missed you too! God, I remember when we used to be best friends. Those were the best times ever!" She smiled.

"Annabeth? Annie?" Alex called.

I turned and shouted, "Guys, come here really fast!"

Jack and Alex bounded over.

They smiled at Kiersten and waved.

"Hi." She smiled.

"Guys, um, this is my best friend, Kiersten. We just found each other again, after five years." I smiled. "And, Kiersten, this is Jack and Alex."

She smiled again.

"It's nice to meet you." Alex held out his hand.

She shook it shyly. "You too."

"You're hot." Jack said and shook her hand.

Yup, that was Jack for you, no filter. He said what he was thinking, without thinking.

"Umm, thanks, so are you." Kiersten winked.

"And this just got interesting." Alex said.

"Tell me about it." I said.

Alex and I watched Jack and Kiersten in amazement. They were perfect for each other, it was obvious within a matter of minutes.

Jack smiled down at Kiersten and she giggled.

He laughed softly and hugged her tightly.

"Now it's really interesting." I said.

"Very." Alex nodded.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Jack asked.

"Nope." Kiersten shook her head.

"Do you wanna be?" He grinned.

"Hell yeah." She laughed and twirled a lock of hair around her index finger.

"Will you come on tour with us?"

"Oh, didn't see that coming." Alex said.

"Yes!" Kiersten shouted and threw her arms around Jack's neck.

"That-wow. Um, o...kay." I stuttered.

"For once, I'm totally speechless." Alex laughed.

"Yep." I nodded.

"Yay!" Kiersten turned and jumped on me. "It's like we're gonna live together!"

"Yay!" I shouted and we jumped up and down.

"Kiersten, come with me, I wanna show you around." Jack said and took her hand.

"Okay." She giggled and skipped off behind him.

I shook my head but smiled.

"This is good for Jack." Alex smiled.

"I agree. He needs a relationship. Maybe he'll become semi-normal." I suggested.

"I hope not."

"Yeah, Jack is only Jack because he's insane."

"Gaskank! Wash yo ass!" Rian called.

I laughed and Alex and I jogged backstage.

We walked into the dressing room and Alex took off, looking for food.

"Ooh, grapes!" He yelled and started scarfing them down.

"Bro." Zack said and held his mouth open.

Alex threw a grape and it bounced of Zack's chin.

"Dammit." He said. "Again."

Alex tossed another grape and Zack managed to catch it.

"Whoo!" He shouted and threw his arms in the air.

Alex and Zack started dancing around and I couldn't help but laugh.

Alex waved me over and we started dancing to 4Ever by The Veronicas.

I turned my back to Alex and we started grinding.

"You sure you're totally white?" Kiersten smirked.

"Shut up." I laughed.

Alex swung me around so that I was facing him.

"C'mon baby, we ain't gonna live forever. Let me show you all the things that we could do. You know you wanna be together. And I wanna spend the night with you." I sang loudly.

Alex smirked and pulled me into another room.

"What're you doing?" I asked, though I didn't really care.

He pressed me back against the wall and kissed me.

I knotted my fingers in his hair and pulled gently.

I pulled Alex's body tightly against mine and bit his lip.

I moaned softly as his lips made their way down my neck.

"Alex, we need to get outta here. Will you shower already?" Matt burst in.

"I should've locked the door." Alex whispered.

"Yeah, that would've helped." I whispered back.

"So, are you gonna shower or not?" Matt asked.

"Fine." Alex sighed heavily.

He bounded off to shower and I shot Matt a death glare.

"Lemme guess, you hate me?" He shrugged.

"No, I love you, but sometimes, I wanna dick-punch you." I said.

"I can respect that."

"Of course you can." I mumbled and walked back into the dressing room.

"Where's Jack?" I asked.

"Here!" He called.

"Oh, I couldn't see you, you had a girl on you." I said when he leaned around Kiersten.

"He's very comfy." She said from his lap.

"Obviously, I mean look at you. If you were naked, you would be fucking so hard." Zack said.

"Okay, I wasn't gonna go that far, but he has a point." I nodded.

"Who has a point?" Alex asked as he stepped out of the bathroom.

"My dick!" Jack shouted.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't know." he shrugged.

"Like a child." Alex said and started towel drying his hair.

"C'mere." I pulled him back into the bathroom.

"What are we doing?" He asked.

I found a hair dryer and plugged it in.

"Get over here." I said.

He leaned against the sink and I dried his hair quickly.

"Thanks, babe." He whispered and gave me a quick kiss.

We stepped back into the main room and Jack asked, "A quicky?"

"Yes, Jack, that's exactly what we did." I said, my voice full of sarcasm.

"I knew it! Whores."

"Jack, have you showered yet?" Matt asked.

He shook his head, "No."

"Well, can you do that? Now, please."

"Ughh, fine!" Jack said and kissed Kiersten's cheek before sliding her off his lap and bounding into the bathroom.

I sat down beside Kiersten and we started talking about old memories.

"Do you remember Jonathan?" She asked.

"McLeod?"

She nodded.

"Oh my god! Yes!" I laughed. "We used to think he was soooo cute! And didn't you try to kiss him in the hallway in like...first grade?"

"Oh my gosh, I think I did!" She gasped.

We burst out laughing.

"And Caleb! He was so freaking hot!" Kiersten giggled.

"Ew! He's my cousin!" wrinkled my nose. "But what about Derek? I mean, he was pretty damn sexy last year."

"I know right! But then he started not shaving and not working out and his muscles got flabby and facial hair just does not work on that boy." Kiersten laughed.

"Oh my god! I know! It's so weird. And then that Chris kid! He used to be super ugly but last year he was just... damn." I giggled.

"He's a sex god." Kiersten nodded.

I agreed.

Alex, Rian, and Zack were listening to our conversation like it was the greatest thing in the world.

"What?" I asked when I caught them staring.

"This is fascinating." Rian said.

Zack nodded, "Insight into the female mind. It's shocking, really."

Alex and Rian nodded in unison.

"How much have you guys had to drink?" Kiersten asked.

They all shrugged, their eyes never leaving us.

"I feel creeped out, guys." I said.

"Yeah, seriously, I feel like I'm about to get killed or eaten or worse." Kiersten nodded.

"What could be worse than being killed or eaten?" I asked.

"Having your eyelids held open and being forced to watch episode after episode of _Keeping Up With The Kardashians._"

We both shuddered at the thought.

The guys shook their heads and stopped gazing at us.

Jack suddenly burst into the room, dripping wet and naked.

"What the fuck are you doing?" I asked.

"Streaking!" He shouted and ran down the hall.

We followed him into the hall and watched him scare the shit out of random people.

He ran up to a man yelling, "Don't look at my penis!"

I shook my head, "Wow, that's... not normal."

"Trust me, for Jack, this is a typical Tuesday." Alex said.

"I have a feeling this tour is going to be rather... interesting."

**~!Author'sNote!~ Guys, I'm so, so sorry that I took so long to update. I had a lot school and family stuff going on that I had to handle. But, I really hope you guys like this chapter. Also, I'm working on another story, I'm not sure what I want to call it but it's going to be a Set It Off story, if you have any suggestions for a title leave them in the reviews or send me a message. Thanks! xoxo, Aly**


	9. Sudden Changes

**~!Author'sNote!~ This is gonna be a short chapter, y'all. I'm sorry about that. I've been working a lot and had some family stuff going on. But, I try to update as fast as I can. Oh, and it's a bit sad, as well. Which wasn't my intention but I thought it could use a bit more drama.  
>Also, to Brittany, who reviewed on Chapter 8, I've already started my Set It Off story but will include you. I just started Chapter 4 and I can put you in. If you want a certain role in the story just let me know. xoxo, Aly.<strong>

"Ugh, I don't have the patience for this!"

"Kiersten, sit still." I ordered and continued cleaning the large cut on her back.

"Well, this is boring." She groaned. "Ow, that fucking hurts!"

I shook my head. "It was your decision to get drunk and dance on the table. I told you not to do it, you did it. And then you fell. This is your own fault. So shut up."

"Don't be mean to me!" She shouted.

"I'm not being mean, I'm being honest, Kiersten."

"Is everything going okay?" Jack knocked on the bathroom door.

"Yeah, everything's going fine." I called.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." I said.

Jack walked in and cringed slightly. "Damn, Kiersten, that looks bad. Are you alright, honey?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. I'm tough." She laughed.

"Jack, can you hand me that bandage?" I asked, pointed to the bandage on the sink.

He handed my the bandage and I pressed it over the cut.

Kiersten inhaled sharply.

"Sorry." I said.

I didn't have many supplies to work with so I had to hold the bandage down with an athletic wrap that I wound tightly around Kiersten's torso.

"Can I stand now?" She asked from the floor.

I nodded and held my hands out to help her up.

"You should probably go lay down though." I said. "Just to be safe."

She nodded and headed for her and Jack's bunk.

I cleaned up the blood and peroxide off the floor and walked into the back lounge.

"She good?" Zack asked.

"Yeah. She'll hurt for a few days, but she'll be fine."

"Annabeth?" Alex said.

I turned, "Yeah?"

"Come here." He gestured for me to follow him out of the room.

I followed. "What's going on?"

"I, uh, I just got a call from Garrett, you know. Since I've been talking to him. Since, ya know, you guys are friends and all that. And uh, well, God, how can I put this?"

"Alex, just say it. It can't be that bad." I said.

"Annabeth, it's about Trish."

"What about her? Did she get hurt?" I asked.

"Annie, she's gone." Alex whispered.

"Gone where? Where did she go?" I shouted.

"You know what I'm saying. She... she killed herself." He said.

Suddenly, every thought running through my head stopped. My mind was ready to entirely shut down.

Only one thought lingered, one single word.

_Suicide._


	10. Racing With Zack Merrick

**~!Author'sNote!~ Oh my god, you guys are amazing! I update this and five minutes later I've got a new review! I love y'all. Hope you like this one! xoxo, Aly**

"Dammit." I said.

Alex looked at me, shocked. "Dammit? Really, that's it?"

"What else am I supposed to say, Alex? Would you rather have me break down in tears and scream my lungs out because my best friend is dead? No, Alex, I've gone through this before. The only way to push through is strength. And that's what I'm doing, being strong!" I yelled.

"Annabeth, you don't have to be strong. If you want to cry, do it. Hell, you _need _to cry. I can see it. You're beating yourself up over this right now."

"No, I'm not, Alex. I'm perfectly fine!" I lied.

"Oh, for crap sake! Just cut it out! Stop lying to my face! Stop lying to yourself! Annabeth, I've been through the same fucking thing. I know exactly what you're feeling. Just have the guts to let it out!" He said.

I stormed off to my bunk and climbed in.

I slammed the curtain shut, well, you can't really slam a curtain. Let's say I "shut it violently."

"Annabeth, I'm sorry I snapped at you. But, you can talk to me. I want you to talk to me." Alex said from the other side of the curtain.

I didn't say anything.

"Please talk to me." He whispered.

I opened the curtain and slid over to make room.

Alex climbed into the bunk and shut the curtain.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Don't be, babe. It's alright." Alex pulled me against his chest.

"I just can't believe she's gone." I cried. "I mean, why would she want to do that? She never called me or anything! She never said she was depressed! She never acted depressed! I never expected this!"

That one word kept creeping back into my mind, suicide.

I sat straight up, rustling around the sheets for my phone.

I finally found it and turned it on.

There was one person I had to call.

I found the number and hit send.

"Hi, it's Ben. You must've called at a bad time or whatever and I'm sorry I can't come to the phone. But, just leave your number and I'll call you back." Ben's cheerful voice said.

It was followed by beep.

I sighed, "Hey, Ben. Um, it's Annabeth. I just found out about Trish. Call me as soon as you get this. I need to talk to you. I love you!"

I hung up after recording my message. "Shit!"

"Deep breath." Alex said, rubbing my back.

I inhaled deeply.

"And out."

I followed his order.

"Better?"

"Not really." I collapsed back on the bed.

Alex pulled me onto his lap and I hugged him tightly.

"I feel like shit." I said.

"I know, honey. I know." He whispered.

My phone started ringing and I checked the screen.

"Hey, Garrett." I answered.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Fine." I mumbled.

"Don't lie to me. Don't you dare lie to me." He scolded.

"Okay, fine. Honestly, I don't really know how I feel. I feel...upset, confused, disappointed. It's just so much to feel all at once. I really don't like it." I said.

"What happened to my best friend?"He asked.

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Normally, if I told you not to lie to me you would say, and I quote, 'Shut the fuck up. I'm not lying to you, asshole!', end quote."

"That's totally...true." I sighed.

"Listen to me, Annabeth. Just stay strong. Remember what I would always tell you?"

"Keep your head up, beautiful. They'll kill to see you fall." I responded automatically.

"Exactly. Always remember that."

"I will."

"Bye, Annabeth." Garrett whispered.

"Bye-bye, Gare." I whispered back.

I threw my phone at the wall, the back popped off and the battery fell out.

I shrugged.

"Anger stage?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I think so." I nodded.

"Hey, bitches!" Kiersten said and tore the curtain open.

"Go away." I pulled the curtain shut.

"Bitch." She muttered.

"Slut." I said.

I was getting impatient, I couldn't sit still and I was entirely uncomfortable.

I climbed out of the bunk and grabbed a pair of shorts and a tank top.

I changed clothes in the bathroom and stepped back into the hall.

"What are you doing?" Zack asked when he saw me pulling on a pair of tennis shoes.

"Going for a run." I said.

"I'll go with you." He offered.

I opened my mouth to say no but I figured having someone with me would be helpful, I had a habit of pushing myself too far.

Zack changed quickly and walked into the living room where I was stretching my hamstrings.

"Ready?" I asked.

He nodded.

We walked off the bus and immediately started running.

I had no clue where we were going but I didn't care, it felt good to run.

I automatically started pushing myself further until I was in a flat-out sprint.

Zack was keeping up easily.

We kept going straight for quite a while until Zack said, "I think this is far enough, race back to the bus?"

I nodded.

We stopped for a few minutes to catch or breath and stretch a little more.

"Ready?" He asked.

I smiled, "Yes."

"On your mark!"

I put my right foot ahead of me.

"Get set."

I leaned forward.

"GO!" He shouted.

We took off, with me in front.

My legs were getting tired and my calves were starting to cramp up.

"Come on." I said to myself.

Pushing myself even harder, I got a good lead on Zack.

He started catching up with me.

"No!" I yelled and pushed as hard as I could.

"I'm gonna beat you!" Zack joked as he came up right beside me.

The bus came back into view and we kept sprinting.

In the last few feet, I managed to get just far enough ahead of Zack and I won.

"Success!" I shouted as I smacked the side of the bus.

"Okay, you win." He panted.

"Fuck." I said, gripping my side, I couldn't breathe.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine, just fine." It was a lie, I was dizzy and my eyes were unfocused.

Black spots appeared in my vision and I collapsed on the ground.


	11. Scratches

**~!Author'sNote!~ I love the review from Can'.Saved that said they hoped Annabeth was alright. Haha. I had a lot of fun planning out what I wanted to happen to her, the good and bad. But, I feel like there's been enough bad stuff, so I'm gonna make some good stuff happen to her. (I feel like she needs it.) But, the happy won't come until probably chapter 12 or 13, but it will come soon enough. xoxo, Aly**

(Zack's POV)

"Annabeth? Annabeth?" I dropped to my knees beside her and pulled her into my arms.

Her body was limp and she was breathing shallowly.

"Oh my god. Alex!" I screamed towards the bus.

The door flew open, "What's up, bro?"

I turned with Annabeth still in my arms.

"Oh my god." Alex fell to the ground beside me. "What happened?"

"I don't know. We raced back here and she just collapsed." I said.

"I'll get Flyzik's car, we're going to the hospital." Alex said.

He ran onto the bus and got Matt's keys.

I lifted Annabeth off the ground and ran to the car, laying her gently in the backseat.

"Get in the back with her. I'll drive." I told Alex.

He gave me the keys and got in the back, cradling Annabeth in his lap.

I drove quickly, following road signs until I found the hospital.

I pulled into the emergency drive and Alex got out.

A few paradmedics rolled a gurney out into the drive and placed Annabeth on it before rolling it back into the building.

I parked the car and ran inside.

"Where'd they take her?" I asked Alex, who was pacing in the waiting room.

"Somewhere in the back." He said, tears streaming down his face.

I pulled him into a hug. "It'll be okay, buddy. She's tough, she'll pull through. It was probably just over-exertion or something."

"You're right, you're right." Alex nodded and wiped his face.

"Sir?" A small voice said from behind me.

Alex leaned around me, "Yes?"

"Um, I need to ask you a few questions about the girl." The nurse said.

"I'm not totally sure. You would have to ask Zack." Alex pointed to me.

The nurse looked at me expectantly, "What happened?"

"Well, we went running together. We didn't go very far, but we were sprinting. Then, we raced back, uh, home, and she just collapsed. I didn't know what to do, so I called for Alex, because they're together, and we brought her here." I explained.

"Oh, that does explain a lot." She said.

"Was it over-exertion?" I asked.

"Not nearly." She shook her head. "When was the last time either of you saw her eat?"

"Uh, we've never paid much attention, but last night, I guess." Alex said. "Why?"

"She passed out because of starvation."

"Starvation? But, we see her eat normally. If we noticed anything weird like that we could talk to her. But nothing like that has ever happened." I said.

"She has scratches on the back of her fingers and it appears her throat is scratched as well. We believe she may have an eating disorder."

I turned to Alex, our jaws dropped and we were speechless.

"I'm very sorry." The nurse whispered and disappeared.

"They've gotta be wrong. She would never do that. Would she?" Alex said.

"I don't know, man. I mean, how much do we really know about her?" I asked.

"A lot. But, not enough, I guess." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Um, guys, she's awake now. You may want to speak with her." The nurse said from the doorway.

We followed her into the back.

She ushered us into Annabeth's room.

She was hooked up to all kinds of machines and monitors and she looked so frail.

"Annie, baby, are you okay?" Alex grabbed her hand.

"I don't know. What even happened?" She asked.

I told her the story, about what happened and what the nurse said.

"Fuck, so I guess the secret's out. I can't hide it anymore." She didn't even try to lie.

"What are you?" I asked.

She frowned, looking more upset with herself than anything else.

Staring up at Alex and I she whispered one word.

"Anorexic."


	12. Going Home

**~!Author'sNote!~ I'm actually pretty excited for this chapter myself, so I'll get right down to it. First, I just want to thank all you guys for reading and reviewing it means a lot. xoxo, Aly.**

(Alex's POV)

"Anorexic."

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"Zack," I said. "Can we have a minute?"

Zack nodded and left the room.

"Why? I mean, really. Why?" I said.

"I dunno." Annabeth whispered. "It started as a stress thing and then it just got worse."

"Stress?" I asked.

"My dad dying, and my mom being a bitch, and school, and stuff like that. It got to me and I just stopped eating. And I mean, look at me! I'm fat." She said.

"No!" I nearly yelled. "Annabeth, never ever say that about yourself. You're beautiful."

"No I'm not." She whispered.

I grabbed her face, "Yes, you really are! The only person who can't see that, is yourself. You're beautiful."

Tears began leaking from her eyes and I wiped them from her cheeks.

"Listen," I lowered my voice. "I really mean this, babe. You. Are. Beautiful."

Annabeth smiled softly. "Thank you."

"So, Annie, are you done with this whole thing? Anorexia." I said.

She cringed at the word.

"Sorry." I whispered.

"No, it's fine. It's just, hard to think about. I mean, I have the problem but I can't even talk about it." She said. "But, yes, I am ready to be done. You have to understand, though, that it's not easy to quit this. I'll fuck up a lot, but you can't get mad at me, okay?"

"I won't get mad. I promise." I assured her.

"Thank you." She said. "So, when can I go home?"

"I don't know. Let me go check." I kissed her forehead before heading to the nurses station to ask about her going home.

As I walked out, Zack walked in.

"Um, excuse me." I said to one of the nurses.

"Yes?" She said.

"Um, it's about Annabeth." I began. "Do you know when she can go home?"

"The doctor is working on her paperwork now. She may be able to go home tonight."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Of course." She smiled warmly.

I walked back into the room. "Tonight, possibly."

"Annabeth?" A man asked from the doorway.

"Yes, Dr Jamison?" Annabeth said.

"As soon as you sign these papers, you're free to go." He handed her a clipboard and pen.

"Thanks." She signed the papers quickly and handed the clipboard back to the doctor.

"Alright." Dr Jamison said. "As soon as you're ready, you can go."

"Thank you." We said when he left the room.

Annabeth threw the sheet off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

She hopped up and started swaying.

I grabbed her waist, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just dizzy, and tired." She said.

I nodded.

"Can you get my clothes from the little closet-deal?" She asked.

"The dresser?" I asked.

"Yeah, whatever it's called."

I opened the drawer and pulled out her t-shirt and shorts that the nurses had folded and put away.

"Thanks. Now, can you help me get dressed?"

"Of course." I said.

She tossed the oversize gown aside, I was holding her shoulders to keep her balanced.

I helped her pull her shirt on and she sat down to put her shorts on.

I put her tennis shoes on for her and she thanked me.

"I feel like a baby or something." She complained. "But, I don't even care. I just want out of here."

"Well we can go, if you're ready." I said.

She nodded.

I helped her stand up off the bed. "Alright?"

She nodded again.

I held her waist tightly and we walked into the waiting room.

"Hey." She said to Zack.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" He ran up and hugged her.

"Yeah, me too." She laughed.

"Let's get outta here."


	13. Ten Pounds?

**~!Author's note!~ Oh my gosh, it's been FOREVER since I've updated and I'm super sorry about that. There's been some stuff going on and I've had tons of school work to do but I'll try to update faster. Anyways, this chapter is kind of hectic, considering I'm trying to make up for being AWOL, but, I had fun writing it. Enjoy! xoxo, Aly.**

"I'm still so tired!" I complained when Alex tried to wake me up.

"You can't still be tired." He shook my shoulders. "You've been asleep for eighteen hours."

I rolled over to face him. "Are you serious?"

He nodded.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Jeez."

"Come on." Alex grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the bunk. "I'll fix you some breakfast."

"You don't have to fix me anything, Alex. I'm fine with cereal." I said.

"Then I can fix your cereal." He pushed me onto a chair next to the table. "What kind do you want?"

"Lucky Charms." I yawned.

Alex got a bowl out of the cabinet and filled it with Lucky Charms and milk, stuck a spoon in it, and sat the bowl in front of me.

"Thanks." I said, taking a large bite.

Alex watched closely as I ate.

"You don't have to do this." I said.

"But I do. I'm not gonna let you starve yourself, Annie." Alex whispered.

I sighed. "I can't just give up on it. It's not that simple." Silently I added _not that I would even want to. Ana's my best friend, I can't just let her slip away from me._

"I know it's not simple. But you have to try." He said.

I nodded. _1000 calories a day, max. 800 would be better. 500 best._

"So, tell me how this all started." Alex said.

I immediatly flashed back to the bet I made with Cailyn in fifth grade. We both bet we would be the skinniest, the most popular, we would be perfect. We swore on it, even. We made a pact to starve. "Stress. That's all."

"Really?" He asked.

_Cailyn and I said we would be perfect. And that's what we were._ "Yeah. Just stress. I stopped eating and that was it."

"What were you stressed about?"

"School, family, everything." I shrugged.

_Cailyn and I were stressed, that wasn't a total lie. But that's not why we turned ourselves into what we did. We wanted to be skinny. That was _all we cared about. _I pushed myself way to far, of course. _

"Typical me." I muttered.

"What?" Alex asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

_Freshman year (1st semester) - 115 pounds. Freshman year (2nd semester)- 100 pounds. Sophomore year (1st semester)- 97 pounds. Sophomore year (2nd semester)- 90 pounds. Junior year (1st semester)- still stuck at 90 pounds. Junior year (2nd semester)- Wait, what do I weigh?_

I flew out of my seat and into the bathroom, searching for the scale. I pulled it out and placed it on the floor and stripped.

I stepped onto the scale. 100 pounds.

I looked in the mirror and tears formed. "Ten pounds?"

"What're you doing?" Alex asked.

I kicked the scale into the corner. "Doesn't matter."

I started to walk out of the bathroom so that I could climb back in my bunk and cry.

"Um, Annabeth." Alex stopped me. "You might want to put some clothes on."

"Oh, yeah." I pulled my shorts and t-shirt back on and headed for my bunk.

As I was climbing in I noticed Alex watching me.

"What?" I snapped.

He cringed softly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I let the curtain fall into place and reached for the pocketknife hidden under my pillow.

It was time to escape.


	14. I Had Sex With Alex Gaskarth

~!Author'sNote!~ I'm not gonna waste your time rambling. So just enjoy the chapter. Review, please! xoxo, Aly.

"Oh, don't get on the pillow! Aw, no, shit. Damn!" I pressed the sheet over my wrist and sat up quickly, banging my head on the top of the bunk. "Fuck me."

I stared at the pillow, that single drop of blood staring at me, mocking me.

"Annabeth?" Alex asked from the other side of the curtain.

I flipped the pillow over, tucked my aching arm under my torso and pretended to sleep.

Alex opened the curtain, examined me momentarily, and shut the curtain again.

I sighed heavily.

I flipped back over and watched as more blood stained the sheet.

"Why do I do this?" I whispered.

_Because, you're a stupid, fat, ugly bitch. _Ana said from somewhere deep in the back of my mind.

"Fuck you." I said aloud.

_Don't say that, Annabeth. You know where you would be without me... _Ana replied.

It's true, I did know where I would be.

I would still be the same loser kid I was in fifth grade. When I was fat, and nerdy, and stupid. Everyone hated me. I got bullied everyday, multiple times a day.

Finally, I got sick of it. I stopped eating, I got skinny and pretty, and soon everyone loved me. It was amazing. Who knew how much fifty pounds could affect your life?

I shook my head and punched myself, hard, in the thigh.

"Oof." I muttered. That was harder than I intended.

_Stop hurting yourself. This is pointless and sick. _I thought.

I rolled out of my bunk and ran to the bathroom.

I folded up the bloody sheet and shoved it in the very back of the cabinet and started cleaning the blood off my arms.

When all the blood was gone I changed shirts and headed back to my bunk.

"What are you still doing up?" Rian asked when I almost ran into him.

"I had to pee." I lied.

He just nodded and wiped his eyes tiredly. "Same here. Good night, Annie."

"Night, Ri." I smiled and climbed into bed, this time to actually sleep.

_Alex shook his head at me. "You're sick. And I just can't handle that, Annabeth. It's too much. We're over."_

_I sobbed heavily. "Alex, please."_

_"No." He said. "Just get out. Go home."_

_"Alex, I don't have anywhere to go!" I yelled._

_"That's your own fault." He shrugged._

_"Please, don't!" I cried as Alex pulled me off of the bus._

_He sat me on the curb and slammed the door of the bus, locking it._

_"This is your own fault!" He yelled out the window as the bus pulled away from the sidewalk._

_He was gone. Alex was gone._

"No!" I screamed as I wrenched myself out of the nightmare.

I heard a thump and my curtain was torn open.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" Alex asked as he pulled me into his arms.

I sobbed and held him tight. "I had the worst dream ever!"

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.

"You left me, like, stranded and I had nowhere to go. But I didn't care about the fact that I had nowhere to go, what bothered was that I didn't have you and I couldn't handle it." I sobbed into his chest.

"Baby, you know I'll never leave you." He whispered. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I love you so much." I said.

Alex stroked my hair soothingly and I curled up against him.

He pulled me into the lounge and sat down on the sofa with me on his lap.

After an hour, I finally ran out of tears.

Alex wiped my wet cheeks. "Everything will be okay, I promise."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"Anytime." He squeezed me tightly.

"Sleep with me?" I asked.

He raised his eyebrows. "Umm, already? I mean..."

"Not like that, slut." I giggled. "I mean sleep in the bed with me."

"Oh, sure." He smiled.

We crawled into his bunk and I curled up next to him.

"What time is it?" I yawned.

Alex pulled out his phone and checked the screen. "Four in the morning."

I groaned. "Does anyone ever get a full night of sleep on tour?"

"Only Jack. He sleeps like a bear." He said.

I giggled. "Yeah."

"Get some sleep, baby." He whispered.

"What if I have another nightmare?" I asked.

"If you do, I'll be right here when you wake up. I promise." He said.

I snuggled into his chest. "I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed my cheek.

Then I slept.

"Annie?" Alex cooed. "Wake up, baby."

I opened my eyes and saw Alex hovering over me.

"Good morning." I smiled.

"Or night." He laughed. "It's 9 p.m."

"I slept all day?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Weirdness." I laughed.

Alex pulled me out of bed and I groaned. "Ugh, standing requires energy. And so does walking."

"Would you like me to carry you?" He asked.

"I can just crawl." I yawned.

He swept me into his arms and walked us into the lounge where the guys were all changing clothes.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We're going to party. And you're coming with us." Rian said.

"Yay!" I jumped out of Alex's arms and ran to my bunk.

I pulled my suitcase out and rummaged around to find the dress I'd bought.

It was a dark blue, strapless minidress. And it was sexy.

I went into the bathroom and slipped it on.

Then I found my four inch black heels, put those on, and quickly did my hair and make-up.

I sauntered back into the lounge and Alex stared. "Wow. You look so beautiful."

"Thank you." I smiled and took in his grey skinny jeans, black dress shirt and loose black tie. "You look great."

"Mehh!" Jack screamed.

I looked over at him. "Are you okay, Jacky?"

"I can't tie this fucking thing!" He yelled and gestured to his tie.

I laughed. "Lemme do it."

I tied it and smoothed it down. Perfect.

"Thank you so much!" Jack gushed with a high pitched voice. "I look sooo perfect!"

"If you ever do that again or I will shove my heel in your pee-hole." I threatened.

The guys all shuddered.

"Just the thought..." Alex began.

"You already feel it." Rian finished.

I laughed. "Try getting kicked in the vagina, or the tit. It's just as bad."

"Have you ever been kicked in the vagina?" Rian asked.

"Once. In junior high. We were playing soccer and my friend Lexi accidently missed the ball and I was standing too close and..." I trailed off. "Oh, it was bad. I cried a little bit."

"Did it like, radiate up into your stomach?" Zack asked.

I nodded. "I thought I was gonna get sick."

"So, a kick to the vagina is equivalent to a kick in the balls?" Jack said.

I nodded. "Pretty much."

"If you ever kick me in the balls I'll kick you in the vagina." He laughed.

"Then I'll have to punch you in the face." Alex said.

I smiled. "Oh, calm down. He's joking."

"I don't care. No one hurts you, ever." He whispered.

"Awe!" I blushed and reached for him.

He kissed me softly.

I curled into him and I could hear the guys shuffle out of the room.

"They're leaving. We could just stay here and do this all night." Alex muttered.

I smiled. "What would people think?"

"Who cares?" He said.

"How about we party for like, an hour then we come back here and do this?" I suggested.

"30 minutes..." Alex said.

"45?"

"Fair enough." He smiled and pulled me off of the bus.

"Where are we anyways?" I asked.

"Ohio." He said.

"Oh. Do Ohio people know how to party?" I asked.

"Well, look around you, do they?" He said when we entered what appeared to be a warehouse.

The brick walls were covered with band posters and pictures and graffiti, the floor was caked with glitter, the music was amazing, and there was enough vodka to last the rest of my life.

"Yes. They do. They know how to party." I smiled.

"Let me buy you a drink." Alex pulled me to the bar.

"Vodka soda." I ordered.

Alex ordered a beer for himself.

The bartender handed us our drinks and I downed mine in one gulp and ordered another. Then another. Then one more, or was it two?

Before long, I was completely smashed.

Alex and I were dancing when I saw a bald guy and walked up to him.

I tapped his shoulder and he turned towards me. "Can I rub your head?"

I stretched onto my toes and ran my hand over his smooth head.

Alex pulled me away. "I'm sorry about her. She's had a bit too much to drink."

"You've had quite a bit yourself, mister." I slurred and poked his cheek.

"I've had three beers." He said. "You've had six vodka sodas."

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"If you were normal, you would be throwing up by now." He explained.

"Oh well." I giggled. "Oh, wait! Has it been 45 minutes?"

"No. It's been about 28 minutes." He said.

"Oh. Well, can we leave early?" I asked.

He nodded and pulled me out of the club. "I wish you would be asking this when you were sober."

"Awe, don't be downer." I said when we climbed on the bus and I collapsed on the couch. "Just make out with me."

"You need to sleep this off." Alex said.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him down next to me. "Come on, please."

"No. You're drunk. You need to sleep." He said firmly.

I straddled him. "No, I don't."

"Annie. I mean it."

"So do I." I kissed him roughly, effectively shutting him up.

"Babe, we can't." He groaned as I tore his tie off and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"The guys don't have to know." I whispered and pushed his shirt off.

"What if they catch us?" He asked.

I bit his neck.

Alex groaned again. "Bunk. Now!"


	15. Our Almost One Month Anniversary

~!Author'sNote!~ Here ya go, another new chapter! Enjoy. Review please! Thanks for reading! xoxo, Aly

"I can't believe we did that." Alex said as we collapsed next to each other.

"Are you mad?" I asked.

"Not with you." He mumbled.

"Why are you mad at yourself?"

"Because, I shouldn't have done this." He said.

"Sex?" I questioned.

"I took your virginity, Annie. I feel horrible." He explained.

"I thought guys liked having sex with virgins..."

"It's not that I didn't like it, because trust me, I loved it. But it should've been someone else, not me. Okay? You deserve better than me." Alex covered his face with his hands.

"Don't start that shit, Alex. I don't care who you think I deserve, I love you and I want to be with you. And I'm glad it was you and not some douchebag, okay." I said.

Alex didn't say anything. He just laid there, hands over his face, muscles tense.

"Babe." I whispered.

"I love you. That's why I didn't want to do this. I wanted us to wait, until we're married. You deserve at least that much." His voice was muffled.

"You think we'll get married?" I said, my own voice barely audible.

"I sure hope so." Alex met my eyes. "I love you."

A single tear rolled down my cheek and I whispered, "I love you."

"You're perfect." Alex whispered and brushed the tear from my cheek.

"Perfect for you." I giggled.

"And I'm perfect for you." He said.

"Exactly." I smiled.

Alex and I curled up together and went to sleep.

But morning came too soon.

"Alexander William Gaskarth! Annabeth Jennelle Mitchell! Get your slutty asses out here!" Jack screamed.

I slipped on a pair of shorts and tank top and Alex pulled on some shorts.

We climbed out of the bunk and walked into the lounge.

"What's going on, guys?" I asked when I saw Jack, Rian, Zack, and Matt sitting on the sofa.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions." Rian said.

I sat down on the floor in front of them and Alex took a seat beside me.

"Did you guys have sex?" Matt asked.

"Why would you think that?" I asked, keeping a poker face.

"Well, there's this..." Jack lifted Alex's tie from his lap. "It was on the floor."

"So? I found your boxers in the kitchen before." I shrugged.

"And this." Rian lifted Alex's shirt. "Found beside the tie."

"I reiterate, so?"

"Oh, don't forget the fact that you guys left the party together before 30 minutes even passed. And you're a very loud little girl." Zack added.

I blushed bright red. "Guys."

"It's okay, Annie. We just wanna know what's going on." Matt said.

I looked to Alex, silently begging him to tell them.

He sighed, "Yeah. We did it."

"I KNEW IT!" Jack jumped up and high fived us. "Congratulations, whores!"

I grabbed his ankle and pulled his leg out from underneath him.

He fell straight on his ass in front of me.

"Chill your testicles." I ordered.

"Okay, okay, fine." Jack said.

"Well, we're taking you guys to lunch." Matt said.

"You don't have to take us to lunch just because we fucked." Alex laughed.

"No, no. They're feeding us, don't fuck it up." I whispered.

"I mean, yes, you do! Food is necessary after sex." He laughed again.

"I'm actually like, extremely hungry." I admitted.

Alex looked at me. "Wait a minute. How are you not hungover?"

I looked back at him. "Haha! You think I'm not hungover. Dude, trust me, I feel like shit. I just don't care."

The guys all stared.

"Lucky bitch." Rian said.

I laughed. "Let's get food, guys."

We all got dressed then walked to the IHOP that was right across the street from where we parked the bus.

When we got inside, I ordered a short-stack of pancakes (what else?) and some orange juice.

When we got our food, I scarfed it down. But I was still hungry.

The waitress came back to check on us. "Can I get another, please?"

She smiled and took my empty plate. "Sure thing!"

Within five minutes she was back with more food. This girl would be getting a very nice tip.

I finished my second plate and finally felt better. "That was the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life."

Alex gave me a quick kiss. "You taste like sugar."

I smiled. "Can't imagine why."

"Maybe it was the insane amount of syrup you put on those pancakes." Zack suggested.

"You used more than me." I pointed out.

"True." He shrugged.

"Hey, Annie. I gotta tell you something." Jack said.

I leaned towards him and he smacked a handful of whipped cream on my face.

Everyone burst out laughing, including me. "You little bitch."

"Let me help you." Alex whispered.

I turned towards him and he licked the whipped cream off my face.

"Ech hem." Matt cleared his throat.

I stared him down.

"Sorry." He muttered.

Alex broke away but took my hand.

I leaned my head against his shoulder, I had a killer headache. _Fucking vodka, _I thought.

"Alex, can we go back to the bus? I don't feel good." I muttered.

"Sure, babe." He said and put some money on the table for our food and told the guys he was going to take me to lay down.

He nearly carried me all the way back to the bus.

"Are you gonna throw up?" Alex asked. "Is it from the vodka?"

"No, I'm okay. I just want to take a nap." I said.

"Okay, babe." Alex tucked me into bed and kissed my forehead before shutting the curtain.

I slept for a few hours before hopping out of bed, totally refreshed.

"Alex, what are you doing?" I asked when I saw him sitting on the floor in front of my bunk.

"Waiting. Making sure you were okay." He stood up and ran to the kitchen.

He reappeared a moment later with a bottle of water.

"Thanks." I said and took a gulp.

"So, we have a really important night tonight." Alex said.

I looked at him, confused. "What's so special?"

"Three weeks." He whispered.

I smiled. I hadn't even realized Alex and I were approaching our one month anniversary.

"We should do something." He suggested.

"You have a show." I pointed out.

"Tomorrow, then." He said. "I'm taking you out tomorrow."

"Okay." I smiled. "That sounds really fun."

"In the mean time..." Alex said and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"What?" I asked.

He pulled me into his bunk with him.

"No sex. The guys could hear." I said.

"You're so oblivious. They're not even here. They went to soundcheck. I'm already done with that, though."

"Oh." I said simply.

"So?" He asked.

I shook my head. "What if they come back?"

He frowned but then smiled mischieviously. "I know what it's gonna take..."

"Alex, what are you thinking? Don't making me punch you." I said, worried.

Alex flipped over on top of me and kissed me roughly.

_That's one way to shut me up. _I thought.

"No." I pushed him away.

"I didn't want it to come to this." Alex sighed.

"What?" I whimpered.

He smiled and put his lips to my ear. "And I know, how to get you crazy, how to make you want me, so bad it hurts."

I groaned as he sang in my ear. "Alex, not with the singing."

He smirked and kept going. "I'll misbehave if it turns you on. No Mr. Right if you want Mr. Wrong. I'll tell you lies, if you don't like the truth. I don't wanna be bad. I just wanna be bad enough for you."

"Alex." I breathed.

"Come on, baby. You know you want to." He whispered.

"But if the guys catch us... I would be so embarassed. It's bad enough that they already know."

"You know that I know exactly how to turn you on, right?" He asked.

I didn't respond.

"It would be really easy." He smiled.

"Try me." I teased.

"Well, there's this..." He said bit my lip.

I didn't do anything.

"And this..." He gripped my hips tightly and sucked my neck.

I moaned softly.

"Told ya." He said.

"Who said I was turned on?" I muttered.

He smirked and started toying with my hips and bit my neck, hard.

I groaned.

"See?"

I shook my head.

"If all else fails, there's this." He started grinding into me.

I moaned again, louder this time.

"Okay. Okay, fine. Stop." I whispered.

Alex smiled. "Now, let's get naked."

The curtain suddenly flew open and I saw Zack crouched down, looking in at Alex and I.

"What?" I asked and pulled the blanket up to cover my boobs.

"Oh, I didn't realize you guys were fucking with all of your free time." He smirked.

"Twice!" I said. "Only twice."

"In two days." Zack pointed out.

I blushed. "Shut up."

"Just sayin'." He shrugged.

"So, what do you want?" I asked.

"Show's in an hour. Get your lover up and dressed, will ya?"

I nodded and Zack walked away.

"Alex." I shook his shoulders. "Show time, babe. Get up."

He sat up and wiped sleep away from his eyes. "Okay."

I slipped out of the bunk and started looking for clothes.

"So you just walk around naked now?" Jack asked.

I shrugged. "I guess I stopped caring."

"Okay then." He laughed.

I pulled out my suitcase and opened it up.

I found a thong, a bra, purple skinny jeans, and a black Glamour Kills tank top that actually belonged to Alex.

I got dressed quickly and went to check on Alex.

Surprisingly, he was already dressed.

"I love when you wear my clothes." He said.

I smiled. "It's comfy. And it smells like you."

He smiled back and stood up.

I leaned into his chest and squeezed him tightly.

He hugged me. "Put your shoes on and I'll give you a piggy back ride inside."

"Okay!" I giggled and slipped on my black Osirises.

Alex bent over, "Hop on!"

I jumped onto his back and we, along with Jack, Zack, Rian, and Matt walked into the venue.

As soon as we got off the bus, I got death glares from a ton of fangirls who were waiting outside.

"Not gonna lie, I'm like, really terrified." I said. "They want me to die. They want to kill me. This is insane. I'm scared."

Alex chuckled. "I won't let them hurt you."

"Promise?" I asked.

"I promise." He said, smiling at fans, as we walked into the venue.

We got backstage into the dressing room and Alex flopped down on one of the sofas, with me underneath.

"Ugh. You're sitting on my tummy." I poked his side.

He shifted so he was sitting comfortably on my lap.

"This should be the other way around." I giggled.

"Oh well." Alex said and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Have you ever been sitting on someone's lap when they randomly get a hard-on?" I asked.

He stared at me. "What do you think?"

"No... Well, it's super weird. It happened to me once and I got super freaked out. Something randomly poked my butt and I was like 'The fuck is happening? What is that?' I got worried." I explained.

He laughed. "So if I randomly poked your butt, what would you do?"

"Probably scream and be like 'David, not again!' or something along those lines." I chuckled.

"David?" Alex asked.

"Ex-boyfriend. Major douche. Pretty sure he's a dad at this point. I feel bad for that child..." I said.

Alex laughed again.

"Sad thing is, he got that girl pregnant when he was dating me." I whispered.

The smile fell from his face. "It was funny at first. Now I hate that guy. He hurt you, and no one hurts you."


	16. Oh

*One Month Later*

"What's happening to me?" I whispered into the phone, leaning my head back against the wall.

"You're throwing up, but you want to keep eating. You're insanely emotional. Your period's late. Honey, we all know what this is." Garrett said.

I started crying silently. "Garrett, I can't. I just can't."

"You had sex with him, unprotected, and the pill doesn't always work. Babe, you're preggers." He said.

"No. No. No. No!" I nearly yelled.

"Deep breath, Annie." He ordered.

I took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. "I guess I should probably get a test."

"Probably." He said.

"I can't be that girl, Garrett. I'm seventeen. This isn't... This isn't supposed to happen!" I sobbed.

"Annie. Listen to me. You need to calm down. More importantly, you need to talk to Alex about this." Garrett said slowly.

I sighed and ran a shaky hand through my hair. "You're right. I should just get it over with."

"Talk to him. Then text me later, okay?"

"Yeah." I whispered.

"Bye, honey. I love you." He said.

"Bye. I love you, too." I hung up the phone and flushed the toilet.

I stood up and brushed my teeth, twice, before walking out of the bathroom into the main part of the bus.

"Alex." I muttered when I stepped into the lounge.

He looked away from the video game he and Zack were playing and smiled at me. "Yeah?"

"We need to talk." I whispered, new tears forming in my eyes.

He immediately dropped the game controller and hugged me. "What's wrong, baby? Are you alright?"

"Alex, I, um, I think, I might be..." I sobbed. "I might be pregnant."

He froze. "Pregnant? With my baby?"

I nodded. "Alex, I'm so scared. I'm so, so scared."

"I know." He pulled me into his arms. "But, we can go get a test and maybe you won't be. Maybe you're just sick or something."

"What I'm not sick?" I whispered.

"Then we'll raise that baby together." He said.

"I love you." I whispered.

"I love you, and I love that little human that may or may not be growing inside your tummy." He kissed the top of my head.

I smiled.

"Should we tell the guys?" Alex asked.

"No!" I said. "Not yet. I want to have an answer before we go around telling people."

"Good idea." He nodded. "Next time we make a stop, we'll find a CVS or something."

I nodded.

I leaned in to give Alex a kiss but before I could, I had to run to the bathroom.

I fell onto my knees in front of the toilet and threw up noisily.

Alex knelt beside me and held my hair with one hand and rubbed my back gently with the other.

When I was done, I leaned against the wall.

"You'll be okay, babe." Alex said when I flushed the toilet.

He helped me up so that I could brush my teeth for the fifth time that day.

"I'm going to lay down." I whispered and walked to my bunk.

Alex kissed my forehead and whispered, "Sweet dreams, baby girl."

I was able to sleep for a few hours before Alex woke me up. "Hey, we're stopped. I noticed a CVS a block back, do you want to go?"

I nodded and climbed out my bunk and got dressed.

Alex and I walked to CVS hand in hand.

When we got inside, I ran to find a pregnancy test.

There was a large display of them and I was immediately overwhelmed. "Which one?"

I picked up one that I'd seen on tv and we went to pay.

I hid the bag in my jacket pocket before we got back on the bus.

"Do you want to do it now?" Alex asked.

I nodded and went in the bathroom.

After I peed on the stick I wrapped it in toilet paper and let Alex in.

We sat on the bathroom floor for 15 minutes, waiting for the results.

When the time was up, I looked at it.

"Oh!" I gasped and my hand flew to my stomach.

"Oh." Alex echoed.

The little pink plus sign taunted me.

I was pregnant.

**~!Author'sNote!~ Short chapter, but a loaded chapter. I hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think. xoxo, Aly.**


	17. Not After Five Months

"What are you guys doing? What are you staring at?" Rian asked from the bathroom doorway.

Alex and I jumped and looked away from the pregnancy test.

"Nothing." We chorused as I threw the test in the trash.

"Guys, what's going on? Why are you acting so weird?" He prodded.

I sighed and looked to Alex.

He stared back. "Just tell him."

"Gather all of the guys in the back lounge. I don't want to have to say it more than once." I said.

Rian nodded and gathered everyone.

Alex helped me up off the floor and we walked into the back lounge.

Alex sat on the end of the sofa next to Jack and I sat on his lap.

"So, what's going on, guys?" Matt said.

I sighed heavily and stared down at my shaking hands.

Alex grabbed my hands to steady them and show support.

I smiled softly to him.

"Guys, I... I'm pregnant." I forced out.

Everyone's jaw dropped and there was an insane amount of tension.

But it didn't last long because Jack screamed "OH MY GOD!"

I jumped nearly two feet out of Alex's lap.

Jack leaned over and hugged me. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Jacky." I smiled.

I hugged the rest of the guys and so did Alex.

"Alex." I whispered when I hugged him. "I can't believe we're having a baby. This is so crazy."

"Tell me about it, babe." He grinned.

"Are you ready for it? I mean, do you think we can handle this?" I asked. "I mean, we're still so young? How can we do this?"

"Hey, look at me." Alex grabbed my face and forced me to meet his eyes. "We will make this work, okay? I promise you that. I'll make it as perfect as I possibly can for you and our baby."

"Thank you." I smiled.

(3 Months Later)

"I'm a fucking whale!" I shouted and lowered my fat self onto the couch.

"Then you're the most beautiful whale I've ever seen." Alex whispered.

"Don't be cheesy." I scowled.

"Sorry, sorry." Alex muttered.

I felt bad, I hadn't meant to be so rude. But that's how it is with pregnancy, crazy fucking mood swings.

I sighed heavily. "Alex, I'm hungry again."

"What do you want to eat?" He asked.

"Pickles and peanut butter." I said.

He laughed and stood up.

He grabbed a jar of pickles from the fridge, a jar of peanut butter, and a spoon.

"Thanks." I smiled and opened the jars.

I pulled out a picle and smeared peanut butter on it. "Why is this so fucking delicious?"

Alex wrinkled his nose. "It's not. It's really disgusting. And it's me saying that..."

"Try some." I encouraged. "It's magicness in my tummy."

"Speaking of, how's my boy doing?" Alex asked.

"Boy?" I questioned. "Alex, we didn't want to find out the sex of the baby when I went for that sonogram..."

"I know, I just have a feeling. I think it's going to be a boy." He said.

"Think or hope?" I giggled.

"Not sure." He smiled.

I smiled and finished eating.

I stood up and waddled to my bunk. "Alex! Come lay with me!"

I laid down and Alex climbed in beside me.

He pulled me into his arms and kissed me.

I pulled myself closer to him.

"Alex." I bit his lip and tangled my fingers in his brown hair.

"Annabeth, you remember what the doctor said." He said when I started pulling his shirt up.

I frowned.

"I'm sorry. He said no sex after five months." Alex said.

I groaned and flopped onto my back. "It's so not fair."

"I still love you." He whispered and kissed my neck.

"I love you too. But don't tease me, dammit."


	18. He's Coming!

"These are your good years, don't take my advice, you never wanted the nice boys anyway!" I shouted.

"Why are you singing Fall Out Boy's Christmas song?" Jack asked.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Besides the fact that it's the middle of May?" He laughed.

"You watch Home Alone every weekend." I said.

"Fair enough." He smiled.

"Who wants to watch Paranormal 3 with me?" Alex screamed from the back lounge.

No one said anything.

Alex came running into the front lounge and stared at us. "Why don't you want to watch a movie with me?"

I sighed. "Honestly, I don't care about movies right now. I just want this damn baby out of me."

"Only another month, Annabeth." Alex grinned.

I smiled. "True."

"Annie, can I hold your tummy?" Jack asked.

I nodded. In the past few months, I'd gotten used to people touching my belly.

Jack cradled my belly in his hands and right at that moment, the baby kicked.

"Oh my gosh!" Jack gasped.

I giggled. "Pretty amazing right?"

He nodded. For the first time ever, Jack was speechless.

Alex smiled.

"Jacky, you can let go now. I think he's done kicking for a while." I whispered.

He nodded and let go.

I held my hand out and Alex helped me stand up.

We walked/waddled into the back lounge and I was Paranormal Activity 3 with Alex.

When the movie got over, I curled up on the end of the couch and fell asleep.

_"Trish, what are you doing?" I asked._

_I was back at home, sitting on my bed, with Trish rifling through my desk drawers._

_"Looking for fun things to play with?" She said, tossing a nearly empty notebook to the side._

_"Well stop. We can just call Ben and Kyle and go party with them." I said._

_"No, I don't wanna hang out with Ben and Kyle. It's girls' night tonight." She said._

_"Then what are we supposed-?" I began._

_"What the fuck are these?" Trish screamed and pulled out a small box._

_I squinted to look at it. My razor blades._

_"It's nothing." I muttered._

_"Annabeth, pull your sleeves up." She commanded._

_"No." I refused._

_"Annabeth." She grabbed my wrist and I winced._

_She tore my sleeve up, exposed the relatively new cuts._

_"What the fuck did you do?" She said._

_"It's because of Daddy." I whispered._

_I remember this, it was the fall of 2009, I was about 13. My dad had just passed away from cancer, I was depressed. I wanted to escape, so I did._

_Trish hugged my tightly. "You know you can talk to me about it, right? You can talk to me about anyting, you know I'll listen."_

_"I know." I whispered. "I just can't."_

_"Why?"_

_"With all of the shit that keeps going on in my life, my dad, Kevin, my mom, Roy... With all of that bullshit, Trish, you should be asking 'why not?'" I said._

_"I'm sorry, Annabeth. I can't imagine how you feel. But I love you okay." She whispered._

_"I love you too." I sobbed and leaned my head against her shoulder._

_That was the moment I realized I had a best friend._

I woke up and suddenly and realized I was crying. I missed Trish. She would never get to see my baby, or have one of her own. We wouldn't be the best friend old ladies who sat on the porch of the retirement home together, like we always joked about.

Alex was instantly by my side, "Baby, honey, what's wrong?"

I sobbed and shook my head.

"Bad dream?" He asked.

"No." I wiped my face. "I miss Trish."

"I know, I know." He whispered and held me close.

Suddenly a sharp pain shot through my abdomen. "Ah."

"What? What's wrong?" Alex said.

"That was a really hard kick, I think." I breathed.

Another shot of pain. "Okay, that's not a kick."

I felt something wet seep through my sweats. "Alex, we need to go to the hospital. I think I'm going into labor."

He froze. "What?"

"The baby! He's coming!" I shouted.


	19. I Birthed A Baby

"Hey there, pretty baby!" I said when the nurse placed my baby girl in my arms.

"God, she's so beautiful." Alex breathed beside me.

"What should we call her?" He asked.

"Sydney Alexandra." I said.

"Have you been thinking about that?" Alex asked.

I shook my head. "She just looks like a Sydney Alexandra."

"She does." Alex whispered. "She's so perfect. I just, I can't even comprehend this. I mean, we made that."

I smiled. "Yeah. We did."

He grinned at me. "She looks like you."

"She has your eyes." I said. I was hoping she would have his gorgeous eyes. "Do you want to hold her?"

He nodded and I handed Sydney to him.

He rocked her gently in his arms and the rest of the guys walked in.

"It's a girl." I smiled at them.

Jack asked if he could hold her and Alex placed her in Jack's arms.

"She recognizes me." Jack smiled.

I squinted at him, confused. "Huh?"

"She knows who I am, I think." He said.

I continued squinted. "Well, you did talk to my belly a lot. And hold it. And rub it. And stare it, which was mega-creepy. She probably senses it was you. Babies are smart."

Everyone laughed.

"It's true, guys!" I almost shouted, the mirage of pain meds still messing with my head. "Babies are smart and stuff. Like monkeys!"

Alex smiled. "Babe, you should just get some sleep."

"Why?" I pouted.

"Because you're delusional right now." Zack said

"Am not!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Yes, you are." He stuck his tongue out too.

I frowned. "Fine."

I laid back in the hospital bed and went to sleep, dreaming about the life that Sydney, Alex, and I had coming.

My thoughts were rather pessimistic, which bothered me. But I couldn't help but think that this wasn't going to be a very fun life that we had hoped for.

~!Author'sNote!~ Hola, readers. This is super short, I know. I'm sorry. Hate me if you must but I've been rather distracted by finals. Anywho, the baby has been birthed. And she is named after my best friend Sydney because she drew me a picture of Alex and I getting married so I was like "You're in my story!" But, that's not the point, I'm going to be starting another story soon. A Paradise Fears story, possibly with some ATL, TRS, WATIC, and TSS appearances. Let me know if you would read it. xoxo.


	20. FML

(6 months later)

"Sydney, honey, please stop crying." I nearly begged as I rocked my crying daughter in my arms.

She'd been crying for nearly an hour now and I couldn't figure out what was wrong. I'd tried feeding her, changing her diaper, singing to her, playing games with her, but it was all useless.

"I know, you miss Daddy. I do too. But he'll be back tomorrow. He just went with Uncle Jack for the weekend." I cooed.

She wailed again.

"Ugh." I groaned and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Please, honey. Mommy needs some sleep and so do you." I begged again.

I held her to my chest and kissed the top of her head. She started to calm down. "That's it, honey. See, it's okay."

After a few minutes I got her to finally calm down and she started to fall asleep.

I walked back into the nursery and put her in her crib.

When I walked back into my bedroom, my cell phone started ringing and I snatched it off of the bedside table. It was Alex.

"Hello?" I answered immediately.

"Hi, Annabeth." He said.

"I finally got Sydney to calm down. I just put her to bed." I yawned.

"I'm sorry I'm not there to help you. I never should have left." He apologized.

"No. No. It's okay. Really. You needed a break." I said.

He sighed. "You need a break, too. You're 18. You should be out having fun, not staying at home taking care of the baby."

I bit my lip but I didn't know what to say.

"You still there?" He asked after a minute.

"Yeah, barely." I yawned again.

"Go to sleep, Annie. I'll be home around noon." He said.

"Okay." I whispered.

"Goodnight, honey." He said.

"G'night." I muttered and hung up the phone, finally collapsing into bed.

Sadly, Sydney woke me up before I'd even gotten 2 hours of sleep.

I stared at the ceiling before getting up and muttered, "Fuck my god damn life."

~!Author'sNote!~ I know, I know. Another short one. I'm sorry guys. I'll make it up to you, I promise. Oh, and I put up the first chapter of my Paradise Fears story. I would really really apprectiate it if you would read it and tell me what you think. Reviews=Alex Gaskarth naked in your bed. xoxo, Aly.


	21. Getting Home

(Alex's POV)

"Fuck, Jack. Come on, man. You can drive faster than this!" I said when I noticed he was going 50 down the highway.

"I'm a horrible driver, Alex. Do you want to die?" Jack said.

"Stop the car." I said. "Stop the car and we will switch and I will fucking drive."

Jack pulled over and we switched seats.

I put on my seatbelt and punched the gas.

"Jesus, Alex." Jack held the edges of the seat.

I rolled my eyes as the spedometer edged towards 75.

I made the three hour drive home in 73 minutes, yes, I paid that close of attention to the time.

We stopped at Jack's house, he went inside, and I took my car home.

I grabbed my backpack out of the backseat and slung it over my shoulder and went in the house.

Annabeth ran into the room to see who was here.

"Alex!" She jumped into my waiting arms. "Thank god you're home."

"I missed you." I whispered and kissed her.

"I missed you too." She muttered.

I took a minute to look at her. There were bags under her eyes, her hair was disheveled, she had no make-up, and she was wearing sweats that were at least 3 sizes too big for her. "You look exhausted."

She nodded. "I am."

"Go to bed." I whispered. "I'll take care of Sydney, you get some rest, alright?"

"Are you sure?" She asked.

I nodded. "Of course, I have three days of being gone to make up for."

She smiled and kissed my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." I called as she hurried into the bedroom.

I walked in behind her to put my backpack in the closet and she was already asleep. I tucked the blankets around her and shut the door softly.

Sydney was asleep in the nursery so I sat down in the living room, waiting for the inevitable cries of my daughter.

I opened the calendar on my phone and looked at it, only ten more days until Annabeth's 18th birthday.

Only ten more days.

I closed the calendar and texted Rian, "Thanks so much for holding onto that ring for me, man. Only ten more days till she's 18 and I can ask her."

He texted back a minute later. "You're really serious about this, Alex? I know you, you said you would never settle down."

I sighed and replied, "That was before I met her."

Rian sent back a smiley face and I laughed.

So far, Rian was the only person who knew about my plans to propose to Annie.

He was the person I trusted the most. Jack wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut about this and Annie would probably be able to get it out of Zack with a little bit of begging and puppy dog eyes. But, Rian... Rian knew how to keep a secret.

But, whether or not it was kept quiet, I was still going to propose to her.

~!Author'sNote!~ I am so, so, so, so sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. Seriously, I took way too long with this one. It won't happen again, pinkie promises. Review please! xoxo, Aly.


	22. Turning 18

~!Author'sNote!~ Okay, I know. I fucking suck because I left you guys for so long but it's okay because I'm back now and I still love all of you okay. Enjoy my sucky chapter and leave reviews and stuff. -Aly

(A few weeks later)

"Annie? Baby, wake up." Alex said and my eyes fluttered open.

I smiled up at the man I'd fallen so hard for. "Hi."

He grinned. "Happy 18th birthday."

"Is that today?" I giggled.

He nodded. "It sure is."

I grinned and jumped out of bed. "I'm 18, Alex! Oh my god! It's finally okay for us to be together! I want to scream it from the rooftops! Oh my god!"

Alex pulled me into his arms. "I love you so much, baby. I love you."

I hugged him as tight as I possibly could. "I love you too, Alex."

"And, I have a surprise." He smiled and kissed my forehead. "But, I'm going to need you to get dressed."

"What? Where are we going? How cold is it? Will Sydney need a hat?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Rian offered the watch her for today. So we can have some time together."

I smiled. "Awh. Remind me hug him super big later."

I hurried up and got dressed. Alex never told me where we were going but I saw him fumbling with a tie so I figured I would dress nice.

The dress I decided to wear was deep purple and didn't quite reach my knees. I opted for a pair or low black heels and a black clutch to take with me.

I examined my reflexation and silently rejoiced over the fact that my baby weight was all gone.

A few moments later the doorbell rang and I hurried to answer it.

"Rian!" I shouted.

"Happy birthday, Annie!" He grinned and I tackled him in a hug.

"You are the nicest person ever! Have I told you that? You deserve to know. You're precious and kind and I love you bunches!" I said.

He smiled. "Yeah yeah. I know."

I giggled and Alex appeared a moment later.

Him and Rian smiled at each other.

"Thanks so much for watching Sydney today." Alex said.

"No problem, man." Rian said.

I told him where everything was, that Sydney was sleeping, and that he could eat anything in the fridge.

Then he ushered us out of the house and told us to have fun.

Alex and I got into the car and he started driving, where? I still didn't know.

"Will you tell me where we're going?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Not quite yet."

"Please?" I begged.

"We're already here." He said a few minutes later.

I looked around, we were at a park.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

He got out of the car and opened my door.

He took my hand and guided me towards the shade of a tree. A picnic blanket was spread out underneath, a picnic basket already waiting.

I smiled. "Oh my gosh."

We sat down on the picnic blanket and Alex pulled out some food that he'd obviously made himself.

"Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, doritos, not a vegetable in sight... Did Jack help you with this?" I teased lightly.

He laughed. "Maybe a little."

I grinned and we nibbled on our food but we mostly just sat and talked for hours and hours until the sun was completely down.

"We should get home." I said when I noticed that night had fallen.

Alex nodded, "Soon. We'll go soon. But first..."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny black box.

My breath caught in my throat. That couldn't be what I thought it was.

"Annabeth, I love you. I love you more than anything in this world. Not only are you my girlfriend, but you're my best friend, and the mother of my child. Annie, I want to spend forever with you. Will you please marry me?" He asked as he opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.

Tears started flowing instantly and I nodded vigorously. "Yes. Yes, of course I'll marry you."


End file.
